From small farms to urban neighborhoods, from the region itself to the more distant worlds of the southern diaspora, we discover the stories, music, and art of the American South.
MF
This has been an interesting and informative course. It would be nice if Prof Ferris could produce an intermediate course on the same topic.
CW
Very interesting and informative course, I have a better understanding of southern culture, the stories, music and art I often heard my grandmother speak of.
LD
I really enjoyed this course. The lecturer has a style that keeps you interested. The content was very interesting.
SD
I watched many of the videos. It was very interesting. I particularly liked the stories/video clips of musicians. I do hope you have seen The Song Catcher..this reminded me of it.
EX
It's a great course with a lot of background on Blues music. Tho I wish there were more music pieces to listen as examples.
JM
Amazing course enjoyed every minute and would like to thank Professor Ferris for sharing his knowledge in such a joyful way.
ES
One of the greatest courses I ever followed!Interesting, documentary, not even one minute boring, very well organized and easy to follow. Music is part of our history.
MS
This were some amazing and enjoyable weeks to learn so ,much about stories and music of the South. Thank you very much and in particular for the fotos and the audio and video recordings.
BA
Loved it although i wish i could have taken the quizzes as an auditor just to check what i had learned.
D
Great Material. Quizes and discussions didn't work, But i was only auditing the course. There is a wealth of information.
LL
very helpful an introduction! Making me really wanna know more about the South. Love the Story-telling oral tradition of South!
EM
Amazing course! Conversational, relaxed lectures that are well-informed, paired with excellent archival footage--mostly generated by the presenting professor.
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I don't know how I would've even survived this pandemic without this godsend of a soul-enhancing course! I'm tearfully-grateful to Dr. Ferris. These aren't merely kind words, these are honest feelings from my heart. I can truly say, I'm now walking this Earth with something priceless and deep to carry with me and share with others from this experience of being in contact with one, Dr. Ferris. I've also learned from Dr. Ferris HOW to be a CONTRIBUTOR and make POSITIVE-IMPACTS to the world's seeming polluted and sometimes deeply depressing stream of life. Pointing out faults and blaming all-day and night expecting people to change in vain, isn't working so well. LOL! Thanks for chilling me during probably the worst summer America's ever known. And, showing me how to be accepting, tolerant, and COOL as a cucumber! Yep! I've been taking notes and stealing techniques. ;) I'm signing off before a teardrop falls into my semi-new MacBook. In all manner of love, respect, and thankful-enjoyment, Ken Wyatt (obviously ignored my rambling red light tonight, oh well)
I want to thank Dr. Ferris for allowing us to get an inside to the beautiful worlds in the American South. The work Dr. Ferris has done in his career documenting the South and mastering it, is truly amazing. This is by far the most enjoyable class I have ever taken!
Bill Ferris is a wealth of knowledge and experience - I only regret missing out on the classroom dynamic of a Ferris-led discussion of Southern arts, particularly the Blues.
Interesting introduction to the South, Professor Ferris tries to be as exhaustive as the format allows however the exhaustivity leads to a sense of barely skimming the surface over too many topics. I would have preferred a little less and a few more in depth analysis.
Impressive archives collection, definitely a plus of this course.
The best part of this course was, of course, the videos. But it just scratched the surface. I would have been happy to have a whole unit on Eudora Welty or B B King or the Chitlen Circuit. Each and every one of the films was priceless. But the course didn't fully exploit the possibilities of the web and I felt it was very static.
Very informative and entertaining course. I moved to the south 10 years ago from way north and the culture is unique and warm. The people are great storytellers and talk slow, stay long. There is a strong music and writing community and I now understand much better the oral traditions and the roots ingrained in the generations of people that grew up here. The strong familial and community connections are deep and they have a sense of place stronger than I've seen in other parts of the world I've lived. I also see a good life balance, and a lot of joy. A truly rich heritage thrives here, and is not lost, even in these-paced, electronic-laden, modren times.
This course is truly an eye-opener to the American South, its history, and its people. I thank Dr. William Ferris for devoting his time and stories to making this course very engaging, fun, and enjoyable. He is very resourceful in this subject and has extremely shared valuable material. Like the many photos, videos, and interviews of B.B. King, Alice Walker, Jimmie Rodgers and all of the other great musicians, singers, writers, photographers, and story-tellers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this course and I highly recommend it. Even people who don't have enough knowledge of the South can still score well and have fun learning about it.
An excellent introduction to the culture of the US South; part personal reminiscence (Professor Ferris draws heavily on the work of people he knows), part lecture. It's also cross-disciplinary - perhaps a course in anthropology, perhaps one in literature and music, really both. Underlying it all is the idea that Southern culture is very much bottom up, folklore, the creation of ordinary people rather than high-flown thinking. My only regret is that I now want to spend time with the works of WIlliam Faulkner, Eudora Welty and Alice Walker and will be doing so after I have completed the course rather than in the midst of it.
Wonderful course all in all! I enjoyed it a lot and Professor Ferris does a remarkable job showing us with great passion all the different cultural and artistic expressions of the American South. The photographs, videos, audios, and interviews he has captured of the many artists showcased in this course are truly extraordinary; what a treasure! I am so glad I found this course that has taught me so much, that has given me a way better idea of this colorful region of the United States, a region that has given the world so much in terms of culture and art. Thank you so much Professor Ferris!
This course was very enjoyable. I loved the interviews, especially the writers segment. I am very excited to read more of all of these great authors. I have read Alice Walker and Robert Penn Warren as well as Tennessee Williams but can hardly wait to start Eudora Welty's short stories. Loved the professor's style of presenting the course as a storyteller himself. Wow, just saw the American Masters episode on Flannery O'Conner, and thanks to this course I grabbed my husband and was treated to her amazing stories and biography. Downloading their books now.
The lecturers and interviews are relatively short and the quizzes don't ask that much of you, nevertheless this is a fantastic introduction to the south and explores a good breath of the arts and culture. The depth and passion of William Ferris's knowledge is obvious. He left me wanting more so I bought two of his multimedia books on Amazon, although he modestly didn't plug them I had to hunt them down.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/William-Ferris/e/B001H6IZGW/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1452359183&sr=8-2
I'm from the Philippines but I've always been intrigued by the American South from listening to blues music and watching movies. This course was very informative and enjoyable. It wasn't overwhelming in terms of the volume of information. It focused on conveying the spirit of the South more than listing down the facts. I really liked how actual interviews and audio clips were used so that we could hear stories from the people themselves. Very digestible for non-Americans like myself.
Because I was born and raised in the South, I enjoy courses that expound my knowledge of southern culture. This is an excellent course and I am enjoying Dr. Ferris' lectures. It brings to mind my memories of early childhood experiences (the good and the bad) that have shaped the national and international consciousness. I state that because I lived in Atlanta, GA during the Civil Rights Era and I wear my southern style with pride, no matter where I travel.
Um curso simplesmente perfeito sobre a região Delta do Mississipi (Sul dos EUA). Fiz o curso para aprofundar a minha visão cultural, artística e histórica da região, visando o doutoramento em música, principalmente o Blues (Mas todos os aspectos musicais da região são essenciais!). E concluo que o curso atendeu perfeitamente as expectativas. Sou muitíssimo grato ao Dr. William Ferris pelas importantíssimas lições. Obrigado Dr. Ferris!
One of the best cultural studies I have ever taken! Dr. William Ferris showcases his mastery in capturing the heartbeat of the American South. Dr. Ferris tells each story with such amazing intensity and clarity that you can't help but be drawn into each moment - as though you were there. Take this class if you're looking for a deeper understanding of how traditions form the basis of societies today and the future.
Amazing and fascinating course. The instructor is a treasure to find. I feel blessed to have stumbled upon this course with an instructor with such a rich history and knowledge of the South. I recommend to any and everyone who loves history and folklore alike. I wish there were a way to down load the videos. This is a great archive of quite possibly my own ancestry. I absolutely loved this course.
Excellent Course! From the start it was very informative. What I liked most about the course was the interviews of the everyday people from the South. The course went beyond the basic facts of Southern Culture and really brought out the influences from the common man. I highly recommend this course for anyone interested in American Culture! Thank you for this course.
This course was great! I appreciate that it covered many aspects of Southern culture across the entire region. I only wish that it went into even greater detail. It would be nice to see a more advanced version of this course with accompanying journal articles and access to the full-length documentaries (or at least longer segments) that are used in this course.
This course is outstanding. Thank you William Ferris. Living in Canada I knew about the southern USA but I never understood it. Now I have insight. I am always amazed at what I don't know. I appreciate the lessons and effort/work put into this course and I will carry this southern understanding with me for all ways. I would like to visit the south.
I am not originally from the South, but I have lived in Florida for the past seventeen years. I have always loved the stories, music, and art of the South, and now I know the history of them.
The course was extremely interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in these things.