Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Southern Studies
First Advisor
Kathryn McKee
Second Advisor
Warren R. Eubanks
Third Advisor
Darren E. Grem
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This thesis explores the ways Mississippi has historically and contemporaneously crafted its collective memory through symbolism. Confederate memorial groups endeavoured to create a “Lost Cause” memory of the state’s Antebellum past, validating its White supremacist systems into the 1960s. With the violence of the Civil Rights era failing to stop integration, Mississippians would spend the next sixty years debating the best ways to represent the state’s history.
This work looks at three distinct manifestations of Mississippi’s memorial culture: the discussions around and changes to the state flag, the cultural and sporting atmosphere of the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”), and the construction and design of Jackson’s Two Mississippi Museums. At the intersection of all three, we see a state of three million people grappling with its past to best shape its future.
Recommended Citation
McGee, Cosmo, "Magnolia State of Mind: Memory and Memorialisation in Mississippi" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2840.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2840