Heritage and Hate: Old South Rhetoric at Southern Universities (Rhetoric, Culture, and Social Critique)

How southern universities continue to wrestle with the words and symbols that embody and perpetuate Old South traditions The US South is a rhetorical landscape that pulsates with division, a place where words and symbols rooted in a deeply problematic past litter the ground and contaminate the soil. Stephen M. Monroe’s provocative study focuses on predominantly white southern universities where Old South rhetoric still reverberates, where rebel flags cast a shadow over attempts at racial harmony, school cheers to reinforce racial barriers, and student yearbooks to create and protect an oppressive culture of exclusion. Across the region, in college towns like Oxford, Mississippi; Athens, Georgia; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama—communities remain locked in a difficult, recursive, and inherently rhetorical struggle that wrestles with this troubling legacy. Words, images, and symbols are not merely passive artifacts of southern history, Monroe argues, but formative agents that influence human behavior and shape historical events. Drawing on research from many disciplines, including rhetoric, southern studies, history, sociology, and African American studies, Monroe develops the concept of confederate rhetoric: the collection of Old South words and symbols that have been and remain central to the identity conflicts of the South. He charts examples of such rhetoric at work in southern universities from Reconstruction to the present day. Tracing the long life and legacy of Old South words and symbols at southern universities, this book provides close and nuanced analysis of the rhetorical conflicts that have resulted at places like the University of Mississippi and the University of Missouri. Some conflicts erupted during the civil rights movement, when the first African American students sought admission to all-white southern universities and colleges, and others are brewing now, as African Americans (and their progressive white peers) begin to cement genuine agency and voice in these communities. Tensions have been, and remain, high. Ultimately, Monroe offers hope and optimism, contending that if words and symbols can be used to damage and divide, then words and symbols can also be used to heal and unify. Racist rhetoric can be replaced by antiracist rhetoric. The old South can become new. While resisting naïve or facile arguments, Heritage and Hate ultimately finds the promise of progress within the tremendous power of language. The US South is a rhetorical landscape that pulsates with divisions, a place where words and symbols rooted in a deeply problematic past litter the ground and contaminate the soil. Stephen M. Monroe's provocative study focuses on predominantly white southern universities where Old South rhetoric still reverberates, where rebel flags cast a shadow over attempts at racial harmony, school cheers reinforce racial barriers, and student yearbooks create and protect an oppressive culture of exclusion. Across the region--in college towns like Oxford, Mississippi; Athens, Georgia; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama--communities remain locked in a difficult, recursive, and inherently rhetorical struggle that wrestles with this troubling legacy. Words, images, and symbols are not merely passive artifacts of southern history, Monroe argues, but formative agents that influence human behavior and shape historical events. Drawing on research from many disciplines, including rhetoric, southern studies, history, sociology, and African American studies, Monroe develops the concept of confederate rhetoric: the collection of Old South words and symbols that have been and remain central to the identity conflicts of the South. He charts examples of such rhetoric at work in southern universities from Reconstruction to the present day. Tracing the long life and legacy of Old South words and symbols at southern universities, this book provides a detailed and nuanced analysis of the rhetorical conflicts that persist at places like the University of Mississippi and the University of Missouri. Some conflicts erupted during the civil rights movement, when the first African American students sought admission to all-white southern universities and colleges, and others are brewing now, as African Americans (and their progressive white peers) begin to cement genuine agency and voice in these communities. Tensions have been, and remain, high. Remnants of the old majority continue to recruit modern adherents. The white majoirty may be in decline by many measures, but it is also powerful and resilient, still standing guard in defense of Old South traditions. Ultimately, Monroe offers hope and optimism, contending that if words and symbols can be used to damage and divide, then words and symbols can be used to heal and unify. Racist rhetoric can be replaced by antiracist rhetoric. The old South can become new. While resisting naïve or facile arguments, Heritage and Hate ultimately finds the promise of progress within the tremendous power of language. -- From dust jacket The US South is a rhetorical landscape that pulsates with divisions, a place where words and symbols rooted in a deeply problematic past litter the ground and contaminate the soil. Stephen M. Monroe's provocative study focuses on predominantly white southern universities where Old South rhetoric still reverberates, where rebel flags cast a shadow over attempts at racial harmony, school cheers reinforce racial barriers, and student yearbooks create and protect an oppressive culture of exclusion. Across the region--in college towns like Oxford, Mississippi; Athens, Georgia; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama--communities remain locked in a difficult, recursive, and inherently rhetorical struggle that wrestles with this troubling legacy. Words, images, and symbols are not merely passive artifacts of southern history, Monroe argues, but formative agents that influence human behavior and shape historical events. Drawing on research from many disciplines, including rhetoric, southern studies, history, sociology, and African American studies, Monroe develops the concept of confederate rhetoric: the collection of Old South words and symbols that have been and remain central to the identity conflicts of the South. He charts examples of such rhetoric at work in southern universities from Reconstruction to the present day. Tracing the long life and legacy of Old South words and symbols at southern universities, this book provides a detailed and nuanced analysis of the rhetorical conflicts that persist at places like the University of Mississippi and the University of Missouri. Some conflicts erupted during the civil rights movement, when the first African American students sought admission to all-white southern universities and colleges, and others are brewing now, as African Americans (and their progressive white peers) begin to cement genuine agency and voice in these communities. Tensions have been, and remain, high. Remnants of the old majority continue to recruit modern adherents. The white majority may be in decline by many measures, but it is also powerful and resilient, still standing guard in defense of Old South traditions. Ultimately, Monroe offers hope and optimism, contending that if words and symbols can be used to damage and divide, then words and symbols can be used to heal and unify. Racist rhetoric can be replaced by antiracist rhetoric. The old South can become new. While resisting naïve or facile arguments, Heritage and Hate ultimately finds the promise of progress withinthe tremendous power of language. -- From dust jacket Contents List of Figures Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. "A Name So Beautiful and Appropriate": "Ole Miss" and theIdeology of Self-Identification from 1897 to 1971 Chapter 2. What Is a Hotty Toddy? From School Cheer to Racist Jeer Chapter 3. Minimization at Mizzou: Confederate Rhetoric and Interpretative Difference Chapter 4. Obfuscation at the University of Mississippi Chapter 5. Football, Flags, and Rhetorical Fury Chapter 6. Origins and Repercussions: The Continuum of Confederate Rhetoric Chapter 7. Reasons for Hope? Scholars of Language and a New South Rhetoric Epilogue Postscript Notes Bibliography Index "Explores how Ole Miss and other Southern universities presently contend with an inherited panoply of Southern words and symbols and "Old South" traditions, everything that publicly defines these communities--from anthems to buildings to flags to monuments to mascots"-- Provided by publisher