Americans have long been fascinated by the Upland South, a regional band of great natural beauty and a rich, archaic cultural landscape that runs from Virginia and North Carolina west through Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and their bordering states. Celebrated for its distinctive culture in the movie and soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou? and in enduring popular parodies such as the Beverly Hillbillies, Dukes of Hazard, and Mayberry R.F.D., the region is home to a way of life grounded in the singular character of its people.
Tied to the land by a mixture of hardscrabble farming, free-range hill herding, hunting, gathering, and fishing, the region's inhabitants have perpetuated traditional handicrafts and passed on a complex folklore. They speak a distinct nasal dialect and compose and play a "mournful" genre of country music. Their adherence to an emotionally vigorous Calvinism does not stand in the way of their production of moonshine whiskey, and they bury their dead in graveyards that reflect a particular deathlore.
In The Upland Sou
Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov is the Walter Prescott Webb Professor of History and Ideas in the department of geography at the University of Texas at Austin.
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