Rhodes’ Memphis Center will present a two-day conference titled “From Civil War to Civil Rights: Race, Region and the Making of Public Memory” Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1.
Bringing together an unparalleled group of historians, writers, teachers and artists, this conference explores the ways that the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the intervening years have shaped America’s understandings of race, region, the South, citizenship and identity.
Free and open to the public.
The event begins with an opening reception at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, in the McCallum Ballroom of the Bryan Campus Life Center featuring the Rhodes Jazz Players in a celebration of Memphis jazz.
Kate Masur, who teaches 19th century U.S. history at Northwestern University, will present the plenary lecture on Friday, Feb. 28, at 9 a.m. in Barret Library 051 on campus. The day’s events include presentations, master classes, a documentary, an evening reception, and the keynote address—“A Deeper Black: Race in America” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, senior editor for The Atlantic—
at 5:30 p.m. in the McCallum Ballroom.
The second day of the conference begins with a master class breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in Barret Library 051 on campus followed by morning presentations and a noon luncheon with Masur and Coates. The afternoon session includes touring of selected destinations around the city. Also on view at the conference will be a gallery display of photography by Ernest Withers.
Other conference presenters are Barbara Combs of the University of Mississippi, Liz Daggett of Rhodes College, Dee Garceau of Rhodes College, Thavolia Glymph of Duke University, Aram Goudsouzian of The University of Memphis, Michael Lee Henley of the University of Mississippi, Hasan Jeffries of Ohio State University, Jason Jordan of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Scott Nesbit of the University of Richmond, Susan O’Donovan of The University of Memphis, Ansley Quiros of Vanderbilt University, Stephanie Rambo of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Anthony Siracusa of Vanderbilt University, Allison Tharp of the University of Southern Mississippi, Timothy Tyson of Duke University, and Katie White of Brigham Young University.
Topics include how Americans confronted the political and social issues posed by the end of slavery, new approaches to teaching the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, and the centrality of Nashville and Memphis in Civil Rights history.
Established in October 2012, Rhodes’ Memphis Center focuses on the human experience of the Memphis and Mid-South and supports Rhodes students’ engagement with Memphis organizations and neighborhoods as well as experiential learning opportunities in the community.
For more information on the conference, contact:
Dr. Charles McKinney
Associate Professor of History and
Director of the African American Studies Program
(901) 843-3525
mckinneyc@rhodes.edu
Rin Abernathy
Administrative Assistant to the Memphis Center
(901) 843-3260
abernathyr@rhodes.edu