Swerve South

In this pop-up podcast episode by Isom graduate assistant Julia Kraus, we explore the history of Oxford Pride, tracing its roots and celebrating its vibrant evolution. Julia dives into interviews and stories that highlight the courage and resilience of Oxford's LGBTQ+ community. From Pat Miller's pioneering spirit in the early '90s to contemporary initiatives led by voices like Matt Kessler and Lo...

In this Swerve South Student Popup, Paul Mora presents two student podcasts that work together to present a multifaceted look at gender and sexuality. The episode features two segments: the first examines LGBTQ+ representations in popular TV shows, while the second dives into the complexities of LGBTQ+ health care and its portrayal in the media. Special guest Vanessa Charlotte joins the discussion...

Join us for the latest installment of Swerve South's Student Popup series, where Sophia Purvis delves into the iconic New York saga of friendship, fashion, and finding oneself in "Sex and the City" and its modern-day continuation, "And Just Like That...". In this episode, Sophia, under the guidance of Dr. Jaime Harker’s English 384: The Queer ’90s course, explores the intricate relationship these...

In the inaugural “Swerve South Student Popup,” Jaleah Walker takes us on a captivating journey through the evolution of roller skating. Crafted as a project for Dr. Theresa Starkey’s Gender Studies 201 course, this episode delves into how roller skating has historically provided an avenue for women to challenge and transcend societal norms. From its inception in the 19th century to the adrenaline-...

Theresa gives an introduction to the 2024 Isom Student Gender Conference with the theme Intersections of Inequality. Mississippi’s longest continuously running student conference, it will take place March 20-22 on campus, featuring the work of undergraduate and graduate students and offering opportunities to engage and converse. Jaime announces the Conference’s keynote speaker, Dr. Alex Ketchum, w...

Welcome to another engaging episode of Swerve South! Today, Jaime Harker is in conversation with Julie Enszer, discussing the indomitable spirit and legacy of the late poet Minnie Bruce Pratt. Journey through their personal experiences with Pratt's poetic world and reflect upon her pivotal role within feminist communities. For full details, visit: https://sarahisomcenter.org/swerve-south/2023/10/2...

Welcome to this episode of Swerve South! Join Jaime and Theresa on a nostalgic journey as they discuss the recent documentary, "Judy Blume Forever." This documentary delves deep into Blume's life and the indelible mark her books left on countless young readers. Our hosts reminisce about the pivotal role Blume's books played during their adolescence, especially growing up in conservative Christian...

Welcome to Season Seven of Swerve South Podcast! In this inaugural episode, Jaime Harker and Theresa Starkey unravel a captivating discussion about the revolutionary impact of online communities on the publishing industry. They also touch upon the crucial topic of bypassing traditional gatekeepers and its implications on the literary ecosystem. But the conversation doesn't end there; listen as Jai...

From early women’s liberation’s goal in the “ Declaration of Sentiments ” of rethinking the role of the body to the western philosophy of the mind/body split, the body has been theorized, politicized, and policed. Despite this history of oppression, the body has also been a site of resistance and power. Our hosts discuss various myths, like that of the vaginal orgasm, about the body and landmark t...

For further reading, see http://www.sarahisomcenter.org/swerve-south/queering-oxford. Code: Pink Oxford Pride Small Town Gay Bar Eric GoDiva Holliday Matt Kessler

torrin a. greathouse  Jericho Brown  Beth Ann's website  Kate Leland's website 

 Dr. Julie Enszer's publications can be found here here: https://julierenszer.com/  Sinister Wisdom The Lesbian South: Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement and the Queer Literary Canon    

Associate Professor of English and African- American studies Senior Fellow Luckyday Residential College Chair of African- American Studies Interim Dean of Sally Barksdale Honors College Pastor -  Alvis Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Oakland                    First United Baptist, Batesville

Click here to read more, visit http://www.sarahisomcenter.org/swerve-south/2022/2/10/season-5-episode-1          

Listen as Gillespie shares his journey from being a professional writer to discovering an unexpected love for teaching writing to first-year students and the possibility of exposing students to their own unexpected love of writing. Gillespie speaks about his fondness for teaching in the FASTrack program, which focuses on first-generation college students, who often have difficulty otherwise accult...

McKee shares how the interdisciplinary work of the Center has created space for different ways to imagine The South, and Thomas discusses how her theatre background enables her to envision programs that also foster those world-making possibilities. The host and guests also share suggestions for bringing those interdisciplinary world-making ideas into the classroom, including using a former CSSC st...

The ghoulish trio explains how the film fits into a larger canon of horror films from the 1970s that expose cultural anxieties around displaced manhood, the dread of second wave feminism, and monstrous wives/children run amok. Drawing upon Linda Williams’s theoretical framework about body genres in film—such as horror, pornography, and melodrama—our guests discuss The Brood ’s fun combination of r...

This conversation looks at both Theresa’s experience in ready-made queer spaces in Atlanta in the late 80s and early 90s and Jaime’s experience in the early 90s with queer world-building in the suburban town of Provo, Utah, while attending graduate school at Bringham Young University. Find out about the DIY ethos that Theresa found alluring in those spaces and how those punk and queer and alternat...

In this week’s edition of Swerve South , Jaime is joined by special guests Hilary Coulson and La Shonda Mims to discuss the complicated women featured in season 4 of The Crown . We talk about how the latest season grapples with the complexities of gender presentation and thorny female relationships. This conversation unpacks the divisive legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the brilliance of Gillian Ander...

In this edition of Swerve South , Jaime and Theresa discuss the campy delight of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga , Will Ferrell’s spoof/celebration of the international song competition Eurovision. Our hosts share some of their favorite moments from the film: cameos from former Eurovision winners like Conchita Wurst, outrageous costumes and performances, and the surprisingly moving...

In this final installment of our “decades” series, Theresa, Jaime, and special guest Kevin Cozart dive into the 1990s, an era that saw LGBTQ culture burst out of the closet and into the mainstream. We reflect on the many milestones in queer literature, music, television, and film achieved in the ‘90s—from Angels in America winning the Pulitzer Prize to Ellen DeGeneres coming out on national televi...

On this episode of Swerve South, Jaime and Theresa follow up the last episode’s discussion of proto-feminist 1970s television with a conversation about the surprising outpouring of queer representation in 1980s pop culture. While the ’80s—a decade defined by the conservatism of the Reagan administration and the devastation of the AIDS crisis—is typically viewed as a low point for LGBTQ acceptance,...

Welcome to a new season of Swerve South! Join Jaime and Theresa on a nostalgia trip to the world of 1970s pop culture as they discuss the female-centered television shows that helped shape their nascent ideas of feminism. From Charlie's Angels to The Bionic Woman , this upbeat conversation explores how ’70s “girl power” television offered young women a sense of power and possibility, even as it wa...

Welcome to another special Sarahfest bonus episode of Swerve South! In this episode, Theresa is joined by author William Boyle to discuss Vincente Minnelli’s 1956 “male-centric” melodrama, Tea and Sympathy . The film centers on Tom Robinson Lee, a sensitive young man who finds himself at odds with the hyper-masculine, conformist culture of his all-boys boarding school. Struggling to fit in with hi...

Welcome to a special Sarahfest bonus episode of Swerve South! This week, Theresa is joined by novelist, television writer, and showrunner Megan Abbott to discuss their shared pop cultural obsession: coming-of-age stories. Theresa and Megan dive into the subversive coming-of-age touchstones of their own adolescence and interrogate why, even as adults, they keep returning to complicated narratives o...