History and Culture of Mobile and Alabama’s Gulf Coast
Led by Margaret H. Davis, Ph.D., Professor of English, and John H. Hafner, Ph.D., Professor of English, Spring Hill College

Experience Mobile, Alabama’s oldest European settlement, and its rich history and culture dating from before the Spanish explorers in 1519. The city and its surrounding area show traces of influence by Native Americans, Spanish, French, British, the Confederate South and the United States. This Institute will showcase Mobile as a microcosm of growth and change in a coastal setting, from pre-colonial and colonial times to the city’s rise as a major American seaport in 19th century, the Civil War and Reconstruction years to the Civil Rights Movement and the dynamic present. Participants will study the history and culture of Alabama’s oldest city through the subject areas of geography, history, economics, politics, race, class and civil rights studies, literature, arts and architecture, coastal cuisine and eating habits. This experience will provide teachers of history, literature, art and social science with a wealth of materials and first-hand experience to enrich their classrooms.

Apply for History and Culture of Mobile

Location: Mobile, Spring Hill College

Dates: Sunday July 6 – Friday July 11, 2008

Times: Institute begins Sunday at 3:00 pm and concludes Friday at 2:00 pm. Mornings begin at 8:00 am. Evenings conclude at 9:00 pm.

Format: Residential Institute

Lodging: On-campus, high-security apartment with four bedrooms (one per teacher), two private bathrooms, joint living/study areas. Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided daily.

CEUs: 40+ hrs

Presenting scholars:

• David Alsobrook, Ph.D., Director, The Museum of Mobile
• Margaret H. Davis, Ph.D, Professor of English, Spring Hill College
• Philip Forbus, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, University of South Alabama
• Frye Gaillard, M.A., Instructor, University of South Alabama
• John Hafner, Ph.D., Professor of English, Spring Hill College
• Jay Higginbothom, M.A., City of Mobile Archivist
• Tom Loehr, M.F.A., Professor of Fine Arts, Spring Hill College
• John Sledge, M.A., Director, Mobile Historical Society
• Sue Walker, Ph.D., Professor of English, University of South Alabama, Alabama’s Poet Laureate
• Gregory Waselkov, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology & Anthropology, University of South Alabama

Session Topics

• Mobile’s History: From Indian Mound to Civil War
• Mobile’s History: From Civil War to Civil Rights
• Seeing is Believing: Museums and the City on Tour
• Literature: Stories from the Past
• Literature: Stories of Our Times
• The City and How It Grew: the Economic Picture

Program Activities

• Performance by Ann Dalton: Cassette Girls
• Films on Joe Langan and Mobile’s Tricentennial
• Driving tour of Mobile’s architectural treasures
• Walking tour of city museums and historical sites
• Tea and history at Oakleigh House Museum
• Performance of Calcedeavor Indian dancers
• Lunch at Wintzell’s Oyster House
• Authentic Old South dinner with Vincent Henderson
• Picnic and literature discussions at Five Rivers Delta

Resource Materials

• William March: The Bad Seed
• Helen Scully: In the Hope of Rising Again
• Frye Gaillard: Cradle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement that Changed America
• Marie Stanley: Gulf Stream
• Eugene Walter: The Untidy Pilgrim
• Roy Hoffman: Almost Family
• Gregory Waselkov: Old Mobile Archealogy
• Frye & Nancy Gaillard: Mobile & the Eastern Shore
• David W. Blight: A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation
• Sue Walker: It's Good Weather for Fudge: Conversations with Carson McCullers
• Selections from Harriet Doss: Cotton City; Catherine Clark: Milking the Moon; Julian Lee Rayford: Cotton Mouth; Eugene Walter: American Cooking: Southern Style
• Sue Walker (selected poems, TBA)

 

Topics, materials and activities are tentative and subject to change. Information will be updated as available.

For all questions concerning this program, contact
Thomas E. Bryant: tbryant@ahf.net 205-558-3997