Maxwell and Book Recognized Nationally for Excellence in Southern Literature

Photo by Morgan Bibbs

Angie Maxwell, Blair Professor of Southern Studies and associate professor of political science, has received multiple national awards for her book, The Indicted South: Public Criticism, Southern Inferiority, and the Politics of Whiteness (University of North Carolina Press, 2014).

For the second time this year, Angie Maxwell, the Blair Professor of Southern Studies and associate professor of political science, has received a national award for her book, The Indicted South: Public Criticism, Southern Inferiority, and the Politics of Whiteness (University of North Carolina Press, 2014).

Maxwell was honored during the March 10-12 Society for the Study of Southern Literature 2016 Conference in Boston, receiving the C. Hugh Holman Award, Honorable Mention. The award is annually presented to the best book of literary scholarship or literary criticism in the field of southern literature.

"I'm honored such a prestigious organization selected my book, particularly because it's not often that the same book receives recognition on a national scale for both the political and literary aspects of the work," Maxwell said. "I am delighted and humbled by this experience, and hope that the attention brings more focus to the scholarly importance of Southern studies and the unique role the Blair Center plays within this field."

The Holman Award was established in 1985 by the Study of Southern Literature Executive Council, and is named for the late and highly esteemed scholar of southern literature, C. Hugh Holman, who taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Former winners include such notable southern literary scholars as Michael O'Brien, Elizabeth Fox Genovese, and Louis D. Rubin.

In January, Maxwell and her book also received the national V. O. Key Award for Best Book in Southern Politics at the Southern Political Science Association national meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more information about this award, please click here.

Maxwell's The Indicted South has received consistent praise from foremost experts in the field, and was featured on MSNBC news show, The Cycle. It has also garnered accolades from publications including the Journal of American Studies, American Studies, the Journal of American History, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Journal of Southern History, the Middle West Review, and Choice, a magazine that reviews current publications for academic libraries.

Maxwell's research has also appeared in numerous academic journals, and she is currently working on her next book project, The Long Southern Strategy for Oxford University Press. 

About the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society: The Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society was established in 2001 by an act of the U.S. Congress. Named for Diane Divers Blair, who taught political science for 30 years, the center studies the American South from a variety of angles to reveal the undercurrents of politics, history and culture that have shaped the region.

About the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with 19 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students and is named for J. William Fulbright, former university president and longtime U.S. senator.