Southern Crossings

by Zurick, David

• ISBN13: 9781930066502
• ISBN10: 1930066503
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-01
• Publisher: Center for Amer Places Inc

Summary

All regions of the United States can be viewed by opposites, but perhaps nowhere is this view more prevalent than in our understanding of the American South. It is to this region in particular that we apply such constructs as rural vs. urban, commoner vs. aristocrat, farm vs. factory, old vs. new, rich vs. poor, literate vs. illiterate, black vs. white, insider vs. outsider, and so on. In 1996, David Zurick, a renowned geographer with an artistic eye, began a decade-long series of journeys throughout the region to find out for himself what constitutes "the South." Living at the fulcrum of North and South near Berea, Kentucky, at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, Zurick was curious as to why the South is seen by outsiders as a region "apart from the rest of America" and by insiders as a place that is "losing its identity." What ultimately captured Zurickrs"s attention was the regionrs"s "southernness," in which there are many Souths, not just the geographically defined Upland and Lowland South or the culturally defined Old and New South. Thus, we see in Zurickrs"s photographs and accompanying vignettes geographical excursions into the Southrs"s myriad manifestations.Southern Crossingsoffers a fresh visual perspective on one of the nationrs"s most distinct regions. Zurickrs"s blending of geographical insights and artistic vision is a model for landscape photographers to emulate for years to come.

Author Biography

David Zurick is a geographer, writer, and photographer whose interests include political ecology, landscape study, and conservation. He is the author or coauthor of such books as Errant Journeys: Adventure Travel in a Modern Age, Himalaya: Life on the Edge of the World, and Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya. Zurick is Foundation Professor of Geography at Eastern Kentucky University and teaches at the University of Kentucky.