Dr. Gibbs Knotts is currently the Interim Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College as well as a faculty member of the Southern Studies department.  Since he.   came to the College, he has been able to use his reformed view of the South to further the department and all the students that pass through it. His childhood as a “fraud” southerner has given him a unique perspective and respect for the South and everything he teaches. After obtaining degrees from both UNC and Emory, he has evolved from an “ashamed southerner” to someone that has a healthy respect for the evolution and complexities of the region.  Through his time at the College of Charleston, he has met other individuals that share similar thoughts about the South as well as music and authors, which has grown his interest in the region and its issues.  

Dr. Knotts has written several books throughout his career at both WCU and here at the College.  Through his work, he has studied the topics related to Southern Studies, such as the southern identity, which led him to co-author a book with another professor he met in his time at Western Carolina University.  Along with Dr. Christopher Cooper, Dr, Knotts wrote The Resilience of the Southern Identity: Why the South Still Matters in the Minds of Its People.  He has also written on topics more related to politics, which he also teaches at the College.  This resulted in a book he published in 2020 on the South Carolina Presidential Primary and it’s impact on the nation, as it is the first primary in the South.  He says that working as a professor has allowed him to be a “lifelong student” in both the Southern Studies department and beyond. 

Currently, Dr. Knotts is working on a project regarding the southern accent and the assumptions that can be made by hearing one.  This particular project involves the perception of southern politicians in comparison to those without an accent, and so far the results have shown that people prefer politicians without an accent.  He plans to add additional variables to the study before publishing it as an article sometime in the future.