Modern Southern Gothic Voice Thread

Southern Cultures is a peer reviewed journal published by UNC for the Center of Studies for the American South. It was founded by sociologist John Shelton Reed and historian Henry Watson in 1993 and has gained a large following since. Despite the fact that he founded the magazine, Reed wanted to name it Southern Culture, singular, but was outvoted as many of his peers felt that there was no singular southern culture and that the magazine should represent all voices in the South. The journal is currently edited by Ayşe Erginer, Marcie Cohen Ferris, and Tom Rankin. Southern Cultures is not your typical journal. They publish everything from photo essays and original artwork to interviews and creative nonfiction. They pride themselves in having representation from every corner of the South and from every perspective. They work to present more voices about the Southern identity and to increase the world’s understanding of the American South, as a whole. 

The magazine is primarily authored by Southerners, though there is a minority hailing from the Northeast and West Coast. Southern Cultures can be read by anyone, though its subject matter lends itself more to Southerners, or those who have a connection to the region. However, the magazine does not just publish articles on stereotypical “Southern” things; in just a quick scan over the Summer 2020 page, a reader might find an article about misconceptions about Asian-Americans, or a profile of artist Susan Harbage Page, and her relationship with her United States citizenship. The magazine can be read online, but one can also purchase a physical subscription, with the options of $40 for one year or $70 for two for United States subscribers or $72 for a year and $144 for two for an international subscription

The format of the website is very appealing, and easy to read: upon opening it, the first thing that comes up is the featured article of the week. Below that are several other articles that relate to the South and its culture. From the home page, you can go to the “About” tab to learn about the journal and what it stands for, the “Summer ‘20” tab to see several of the most popular and relevant articles from this summer, the “Issues” tab to browse all the issues on the site, the Events tab to find things such as launch parties, a “Films tab”, a “Shop” tab, and a “Newsletter” tab where one can read it or start a subscription. As far as what the physical issues look like, they often feature covers showing art from Southern artists having to do with the content of that issue. This week’s feature, “It Was A Place of Infamy,” focuses on a set of photographs from Perry County Jail and what that location has to do with the larger Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Organizers who worked with King to recruit the youth to the movement like James Orange were sent to the jail on charges such as “‘disorderly conduct’ and ‘contributing to the delinquency of minors.’” The article then goes into how the myrder of a local deacon led to the protests becoming progressively more heated. Other recent articles include “Cancer Alley,” an article focusing on a large port and trade area stretching from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico and how many of its economic and cultural problems stem from the colonialism on which America was founded, and “Cut it Clean,” an article that focuses on the art and culture surrounding oyster shucking and a little bit on the challenges faced by women and people of color in that field. All of this paints a picture of a very scholarly journal that takes small and unique instances and stories in the South to shed light on some of the larger issues and cultural phenomena in the region.