After arriving safely in Savannah, Georgia we anxiously await the true beginning of our journey through the South in the morning. We will travel to the historic district in downtown Savannah and visit the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the Mercer Williams House, and participate in the "Civil War Generals Tour" that takes visitors to the homes of generals who served major roles in the great conflict. We hope to learn more about the day-to-day activities in and around these historic homes in order to compare those truths to the ways historians are portraying them today.
Due to the severe winter storm that is encompassing the South, we have altered our itinerary slightly. We will now visit Montgomery, Alabama on the return trip instead of today.
The year 2011 marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, which began July 21, 1861. The sites visited during our survey of the Old South are representative of the colonial period through the Civil War. The sites reflect various cultural aspects of the region from plantation homes to battlefields. We will concentrate on what historians have said about the significance of southern culture in the specific areas that we visit. Our guiding questions when visiting these sites are: 1) what message about the past are they emphasizing; 2) who are the people they include, or exclude; and 3) how does the visual narrative compare to the analyses of historians of the Old South.
We look forward to sharing our journey through the South with our family, friends, and college community. Thank you for joining us for the ride.
-Scarlett and Melanie
No comments:
Post a Comment