Anthropological Studies in the American South: Review and Directions [and Comments and Review]

Abstract

Although anthropological studies in the American South have been conducted in the past few decades, we find that there is a growth of interest in this region recently. Because of the decrease in funding for anthropological research in other countries, combined with the attitudes anthropologists are more frequently encountering from peoples in other cultures, anthropological research has increasingly focused on subcultures and regions in North America. The American South provides cultural variations and similarities amenable to traditional anthropological research, and research in this region increases yearly. The purpose of this paper is first to review briefly some of the approaches to the American South and to point out some of their advantages and disadvantages. Secondly, the paper will examine some of the recent anthropological studies in the region, focusing on the concepts they have employed to explain social change and continuity. Lastly, a direction for future research is suggested, utilizing a conceptual framework based on established anthropological approaches, that will, it is hoped, be used as a guideline for future sociocultural research.