Arkansas Historian Jeannie Whayne to Give Greenfield Lecture, Oct. 1
JONESBORO – The 2014-15 Lecture-Concert Series at Arkansas State University will continue Wednesday, Oct. 1, with the annual Greenfield Lecture, to be given this year by Dr. Jeannie M. Whayne, professor of history at the University of Arkansas.
Whayne will speak on "Arkansas Rural Culture" to students and the public at 7 p.m. in Wilson Hall Auditorium, 2405 Aggie Way.
This installment of the Lecture-Concert Series is funded by Drs. Rosalee and Raymond Weiss of Teaneck, New Jersey, through an endowment in memory of her mother, Corinne Sternheimer Greenfield. The endowment supports the annual Greenfield Lecture. The lecture also is supported by the A-State College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which coordinates the event.
After completing her Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego, Whayne joined the UA faculty in 1990. She has published more than a dozen articles and essays on Arkansas, African-American and Southern history.
Her most recent book, "Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South," won the Arkansiana Award as well as the John G. Ragsdale Prize from the Arkansas Historical Association.
The book is a social, economic and environmental history that traces the Lee Wilson plantation in Mississippi County through distinct phases in the post-Civil War period and analyzes how it intersected with trends in plantation agriculture, race relations and environmental changes.
"We are very excited to have Dr. Whayne visit Arkansas State University and talk about 'Delta Empire,' " commented Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, associate professor of history and organizer for the lecture. "Wilson Hall, where the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is currently housed, is named for Robert Edward Lee Wilson. Whayne will speak to Wilson's history and legacy as a large cotton plantation owner and his role in the transformation of agriculture in the Arkansas Delta."
"Delta Empire" is one of 10 books Whayne has authored, co-authored or edited.
Admission is free to this and all events in the Lecture-Concert Series, according to Dr. Tim Crist, chair of the Lecture-Concert Committee.
The Lecture-Concert Series serves Arkansas State and the surrounding communities by bringing notable guest speakers and performers of diverse backgrounds and wide appeal to the campus, according to Crist. Many of the Lecture-Concert Series events include additional campus activities as well as community outreach projects.
For more details about the series, interested individuals may visit the series website, AState.edu/lectureconcert or contact Crist, tcrist@astate.edu, (870) 972‑2094.
# # #
