Topic Guide
What Is American south?
American south is a subject covered in depth across 1 podcast episode in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.
Key Concepts in American south
Grios
In West African culture, grios are gifted storytellers with deep spiritual, social, and political discernment, tasked with preserving genealogies, historical narratives, and values. They serve as advisors, diplomats, and truth-tellers to their people, a role the hosts ascribe to Dr. Cottom for her ability to 'discern and tell the truth and make us want to hear it'.
Tyranny of a single story
This concept highlights the danger of reducing complex realities to one narrative, often driven by a human desire for simplicity. Dr. Cottom notes that our inclination towards a single, overarching story can itself be a problem, as it obscures the many diverse narratives that always exist in a multi-racial, cross-class society.
The american dream (as a story)
Described as the prevailing story that if you 'work hard, you roughly follow the rules, and you will do better than your parents,' this narrative is presented as a relatively new (last 60 years) but deeply pervasive social construct. Dr. Cottom argues that its widespread acceptance made it difficult to imagine the world outside of its promise, making it vulnerable to 'threat' narratives like MAGA.
Lost cause
An idea originating from the American South that even in defeat (specifically the Civil War), one can still be a winner. Dr. Cottom explains how this narrative, when wrapped in white nationalism, continues to have currency by telling people they don't need to feel guilty or compromise for ideas of inclusion or social progress, and is exploited by political figures.
'being white' as a social construct
Dr. Cottom argues that 'white' is not an inherent identity, country, or religion, but rather an idea constructed around who should be in power and who deserves to rule. She suggests that this constructed identity often 'stands in the way' of white people having genuine culture, ancestry, community, identity, place, and belonging, implying it must be relinquished to find these deeper connections.
What Experts Say About American south
- 1.The 'MAGA story' gained traction by presenting an amorphous 'threat' to the 'American dream' and providing easily identifiable scapegoats, becoming sticky due to the lack of an honest, hopeful counter-narrative from political leaders.
- 2.The current two-party political system incentivizes 'good politics' that are 'hostile to being a good person,' particularly since the Citizens United decision allowed an 'arms race for money' that made politicians unaccountable to voters.
- 3.The American South is not uniquely racist but serves as a crucial place for solving national problems due to its deep-seated interpersonal factions and diverse populations, and dismissing it as a 'character' avoids confronting systemic issues present nationwide.
- 4.Displays of Confederate flags, even in regions far from the historical Confederacy, overtly communicate white supremacy rather than regional heritage, and those who display them are often fully aware of this meaning.
- 5.Authoritarian regimes seek to control the future by controlling and erasing the past, making the defense of 'every group's right to remember' essential for projecting oneself and one's community into the future.
- 6.Human desire, creativity, intimacy, and community are inherently resistant to power, which is why they are often targeted, resented, and sought to be suppressed by those who wish to control society.