Take On The South

In this season finale, past guest Chairman Thad Westbrook switches things up by interviewing our beloved host, Professor Mark Smith. They discuss his upbringing in the U.K., his days living on a military base in Germany—where he was first introduced to American culture—and how a leap of faith sparked his obsession with Southern history, which became his lifelong profession.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/so...

On this episode, Mark sits down with Thad Westbrook, Chairman of the University of South Carolina's Board of Trustees. They discuss his responsibilities as chairman of the university, his future plans for the school, and how his undergraduate experience at USC, particularly in Southern Studies, shaped the way he serves his communities.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatusc#podcast #southcarolina #uni...

Mark sits down with author Benjamin L. Cwayna for an engaging conversation about his highly anticipated new book, The Invincible Twelfth: The 12th South Carolina Infantry of the Gregg-McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia—available July 10th. Together, they explore Cwayna’s background, his deep passion for Civil War history, and the remarkable bravery of the regiments that helped shape the course of the war.Find Benjamin's...

In this episode, host Emily Allen interviews Chloe H. Smith, a PhD candidate in Music History at Yale University. Smith's work examines American folk and popular music traditions to explore social and cultural histories of the region she calls home—the U.S. South. Her dissertation argues that minstrel tunes and Confederate anthems function as vessels of sonic Civil War memory—from late 19th-century popular stages to contemporar...

Mark sits down with acclaimed author Katherine Scott Crawford to talk about her Greenville upbringing, the writing process behind her new book The Miniaturist's Assistant (releasing May 15), and her thoughts on AI stealing authors' work to train AI models.Check out Katherine's Website!: https://www.katherinescottcrawford.com/Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatusc#podcast #southcarolina #university #histo...

Mark sits down with F. Evan Nooe, Assistant Professor of History and historian for the Native American Studies Center at the University of South Carolina Lancaster, to talk about his Floridian upbringing, his book Aggression and Sufferings: Settler Violence, Native Resistance, and the Coalescence of the Old South, and the false narratives white southerners weaponized to incite voilence against Southern Native Americans.Follow us on...

In this episode, Dr. Emily Allen sits down with fellow host Professor Mark Smith to discuss the history of firing squad executions in relation to South Carolina's first execution by firing squad in over 15 years, scheduled to take place on March 8. Mark provides his insight on how this practice dates back to the Civil War, when it was considered a controversial practice even then.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://l...

Host Dr. Emily Allen interviews Dr. Sarah Waheed, Assistant Professor of History at USC. Her scholarly expertise is on the history of South Asian Islam and the shaping of Muslim communities across the India-Pakistan divide, and her academic work focuses on gender and memory as well as transregional global histories. Dr. Sarah Waheed is also one of the lead directors of The Muslim South, a USC Humanities Collaborative sponsored Rese...

On this caffeinated episode, Mark sits down with USC Public History Master's student Anna Thompson to talk coffee. You heard that right... They discuss the origins of coffee, the British's historical disdain for it, and how the Union used coffee to turn the tides of the civil war. This is a good one that you don't want to miss.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatuscFollow Anna on Instagram!@aghomeslice#po...

In this episode, Matt sits down with Dylan Kobus, the 2024 recipient of the David G. Ellison Graduate Student Fellowship, to discuss his southern upbringing and research on southern magic conjuring. Together, they explore how these practices bridged diverse groups, blending medicinal knowledge with cultural traditions in the post-bellum era.Follow us on Take on the South socials!
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In this episode, Matt chats with Sophie deMaine, a rising sophomore at the University of South Carolina and the second recipient of the 2024 Neuffer Family Scholarship in Southern Studies. Sophie reflects on growing up in Greenville, a town now being transformed by DINKWADs—dual-income, no kids, with a dog households. She discusses how the town's vibe has changed and the challenges of dealing with Northern classmates' negative ster...

In this episode, Matt chats with Addy Lee, a senior at the University of South Carolina and one of the two recipients of the 2024 Neuffer Family Scholarship in Southern Studies. Addy discusses growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, and the contrasts between her Southern roots and Northern family background. She also shares her journey in Southern Studies and her plans after graduating in May.

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Host Dr. Emily Allen interviews Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees. Of Mvskoke and Scottish descent, Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees descends from Hotvlkvlke (Wind Clan) following Mvskoke stompdance traditions. Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees won a 2023 Native Voices Award.

She is the author of Vision Lines: Native American Decolonizing Literature. A Cornell and Harvard graduate, she works at the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and teaches Native American Studi...

Host Dr. Emily Allen interviews Danielle Davis, a doctoral candidate in Musicology at Florida State University, an inaugural Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellow, and Pre-Doctoral Fellow at Emory University's James Weldon Johnson Institute. In this episode Davis discusses her dissertation project, The Tidewater Trio Project: Virginian Hip-hop in Hampton Roads. 

The project ventures boldly into the realm of record productio...