OXFORD, Miss. – Past and present ways of life in Oxford are
the focus of the spring Brown Bag Lunch and Lecture Series
at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of
Southern Culture.
Beginning Jan. 23 and continuing each Wednesday for 13
weeks except during spring break, the free, public programs
are scheduled at noon in the Tupelo Room of Barnard
Observatory. The programs offer personal insight from
university members, including documentary film producers,
professors and Southern studies graduate students, as well
as other Oxonians.
The first program each month, beginning in February,
features staff from UM’s Center for Documentary Projects
discussing their project of documenting life in the
Lafayette-Oxford-University community through videotaped
oral histories. Their idea is to preserve personalities and
memories of this rapidly changing small Southern town by
interviewing people from every corner of the community.
“We all recognize that the Oxford area is in the middle of
some profound change,” said Andy Harper, director of media
production and distributed learning. “That realization
should inspire us to reflect on the history of our
community as we look toward its future. We hope to use
these brown bag forums to open that dialogue and this
documentary series to tell the stories.”
Joe York, producer/director, said the staff is working a
documentary about the old Hoka theater, which will be the
focus of the Feb. 6 lecture.
“This film, titled ‘Sorry, We’re Open,’ is set to play at
the Oxford Film Festival on Feb. 7, and tells the story of
the Hoka, a cotton warehouse-turned-movie theater that
served as the heart of Oxford’s cultural and
counter-cultural life from the late 1970s through the
middle 1990s,” York said. “As the project continues, we
hope to turn our lens at many different aspects of the life
of this town and we plan to use the upcoming brown bags to
showcase some of the footage we’ve already shot for the
Hoka documentary, as well as to discuss possible ideas for
further documentaries with the community.”
York was named Food Filmmaker of the Year at the New York
City Food Festival in 2007.
Other topics of discussion for the spring brown bags
include the native pleasures of north Mississippi, how the
American dream comes true in Oxford and gardening.
Following is a list of the brown bag lectures:
Jan. 23 – “A Brainstorming Session for Stories: Questions
for Oxonians on Oxford,” Harper and York.
Jan. 30 – “A Reading and Conversation with Jack Pendarvis:
‘Awesome,'” Jack Pendarvis, UM’s 2007 Grisham
writer-in-residence, and Tom Franklin, UM’s 2001 Grisham
writer-in-residence.
Feb. 6 – “Oxonians on the Hoka: Setting the Stage for
Change,” various guest speakers.
Feb. 13 – “Native Pleasures of the North Mississippi
Woodland,” Sherra Owen, environmental educator in New
Albany.
Feb. 20 – “Anticipating Writing Women’s History: A Tribute
to Anne Firor Scott in the 33rd Porter Fortune Jr.
Chancellor’s Symposium,” Elizabeth Payne, UM professor of
history.
Feb. 27 – “Making the American Dream Come True in Oxford:
LOU Home Inc., the Amos Network and Habitat for Humanity,”
Frederick Laurenzo, president, LOU Home Inc.; Lynn Wilkins,
leadership committee member, Amos Network; Ocie Cook, new
homeowner; Janice F. Carr, first-time homebuyer and
education coordinator, Amos Network.
March 5 – “Oxonians on the Square: A Documentary Project of
the Center for Media Production,” York.
March 12 – No program due to spring break.
March 19 – “The Mother of All Gardens, or Thank You Mr.
Wilson,” Carolyn Kittle, garden writer and
horticulturalist, Memphis.
March 26 – “The Woman on the Scaffold: Cultural
Representation of America’s Sensational Female
Transgressors,” Theresa Stark, doctoral candidate in
American Studies, Emory University.
April 2 – “Oxonians on ‘The Town that Was’: A Youthful View
of the ’60s and ’70s”: A Documentary Project of the Center
for Media Production,” various Oxford speakers.
April 9 – “Collecting ‘Black’ Bodies,” Nancy Bercaw, UM
professor of history and Southern studies.
April 16 – “Blood, Tears, Boycotts and the National
Movement Toward Direct Action: Medgar Wiley Evers and the
Meaning of Civil Rights Struggle,” Michael Williams,
doctoral candidate in history.
April 23 – “The Mississippi Encyclopedia,” Odie Lindsey,
research assistant, and Ted Ownby, UM professor of history
and Southern studies.
For more information, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south