MACON – Mercer University's Center for Southern Studies is making available to the public a summer tour of historically important and iconic Southern destinations.
This tour of the South, which departs from Atlanta on May 18 and returns six days later, will venture through Montgomery, New Orleans, Memphis and Birmingham.
Highlights include the State House and Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery; the Roosevelt Hotel, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Oak Alley Plantation and dinner at Antoine's in the French Quarter over two days in New Orleans; the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Miss.; William Faulkner's home in Oxford, Miss.; Beale Street, Sun Records and Neely's Interstate Barbecue in Memphis; Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Miss.; and Sloss Furnace and the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham.
The restaurants on the tour offer some of the South's most delicious fare and iconic dining experiences, while the four- and five-star hotels are among the region's finest.
The trip will involve moderate activity, including walking tours of the French Quarter and other sites.
Tour leaders include Dr. David A. Davis, assistant professor of English and an expert on Southern literature and material culture; Dr. Sarah Gardner, professor of history, director of the Center for Southern Studies and an expert on Southern intellectual history; and Dr. Doug Thompson, associate professor of Southern Studies and an expert on Southern religious history and the Civil Rights Movement.
“This tour affords participants the opportunity to experience the rich and varied culture of the American South in all its complexity and wonder,” said Dr. Gardner.
The cost of the tour is $1,950. To make reservations, contact Erin P. Keller, coordinator of alumni programs, at keller_ep@mercer.edu or (478) 301-5675, or click here. More information on the tour, including a full itinerary, is available here. The deadline to register is April 4.
