According to Cobb, the South “has arguably changed more in the seven decades since World War II than it had over roughly the same span between Appomattox and Pearl Harbor.” However, he contends that “owing to its perceived resistance to a lofty, idealized liberal vision of national character and purpose, for some, the South continues to serve in its historic role as a starkly contrasting `other,’ against which America’s exceptional enlightenment and virtue stand out in sharp relief.”
In addition to revisiting this story of continuity within change, Cobb will offer an updated assessment of the major racial, economic, and political questions confronting the region less than a month before the 2016 election.
Cobb, the Spalding Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Georgia, is past president of the Southern Historical Association and the award-winning author of several books focused on Southern culture and history. He has written extensively on the interaction among the economy, society and culture in the American South. He also publishes in popular media including The New York Times; The New Republic; the Los Angeles Times; The Wall Street Journal; TIME.COM; Newsday; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Charlotte Observer. He has been awarded fellowships by the Fulbright Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities and was a Senior Visiting Mellon Scholar at Cambridge University. He earned his A.B., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.
The fall lecture series will conclude Wednesday, Nov. 9, when Dr. Jean Edward Smith – called “America’s greatest living biographer” by George Will and “America’s premier political biographer” by others – will discuss the topic of his latest book, BUSH, focusing on the career of President George W. Bush. Smith’s lecture also will take place at 7 p.m. in the Foundation Hall.
The Amicus Curiae Lecture Series is supported by a grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council.