Athens of the New South: The Role of Higher Education in Nashville
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
22-9-2017 3:00 PM
Description
In 2013, the New York Times identified Nashville as America’s “it” city—a leading hub of music, culture, technology, food and business. But long before, the Tennessee capital was known as the “Athens of the South,” as a reflection of the city’s reputation for and investment in its institutions of higher education, which especially blossomed after the end of the Civil War and through the New South Era from 1865 to 1930. Dr. Pethel will discuss key points from her newest book, which chronicles the founding and growth of Nashville’s institutions of higher education. Linking these institutions to the progressive and educational reforms of the era, Mary Ellen Pethel will explore the impact of local colleges and universities on changing gender roles, on race relations and on leisure activity and sports. She will also link the past to the present by showing that Nashville’s reputation as a dynamic place to live, learn and work is due in no small part to the role that higher education continues to play in the city’s growth and development.
Recommended Citation
Pethel, Mary Ellen, "Athens of the New South: The Role of Higher Education in Nashville" (2017). Humanities Symposium. 5.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2017/2017/5
Athens of the New South: The Role of Higher Education in Nashville
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
In 2013, the New York Times identified Nashville as America’s “it” city—a leading hub of music, culture, technology, food and business. But long before, the Tennessee capital was known as the “Athens of the South,” as a reflection of the city’s reputation for and investment in its institutions of higher education, which especially blossomed after the end of the Civil War and through the New South Era from 1865 to 1930. Dr. Pethel will discuss key points from her newest book, which chronicles the founding and growth of Nashville’s institutions of higher education. Linking these institutions to the progressive and educational reforms of the era, Mary Ellen Pethel will explore the impact of local colleges and universities on changing gender roles, on race relations and on leisure activity and sports. She will also link the past to the present by showing that Nashville’s reputation as a dynamic place to live, learn and work is due in no small part to the role that higher education continues to play in the city’s growth and development.
Comments
Convocation Credit: Global Citizenship, Leadership, Diversity and the Professions