Maxwell Receives National Honor, Book Named Best in Southern Politics

Russell Cothren, University Relations

Angie Maxwell, Blair Professor of Southern Studies and associate professor of political science

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Angie Maxwell, Blair Professor of Southern Studies and associate professor of political science, was awarded the national V. O. Key Award for Best Book in Southern Politics.

She and her book, The Indicted South: Public Criticism, Southern Inferiority, and the Politics of Whiteness (University of North Carolina Press, 2014), were honored Jan. 8, at the Southern Political Science Association national meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"I teach V. O. Key's work almost every semester," Maxwell said. "For my book to receive this kind of prestigious award named for such an influential scholar is thrilling. I am grateful for the encouragement."

The Indicted South has received consistent praise and was featured on MSNBC news show, The Cycle. David Roediger, Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies at the University of Kansas, described Maxwell's book as a "well-researched and often stylishly written study of the intellectual history of the twentieth-century South" based on the "idea that a crabbed defense of the faith, ideas, economy, and inequalities of the South matured in the face of sweeping attacks from within and outside the region. Such passionate defenses elbowed aside less extreme ideas."

The Journal of American Studies (Cambridge) called the book "bold," "provocative," and "fearless," and American Studies (US) wrote that it "expands the canon on whiteness generally and brings new depth to research on southern whiteness." The book has also garnered praise from the Journal of American History, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Journal of Southern History, the Middle West Review, and was deemed "highly recommended " by Choice, a magazine that reviews current publications for academic libraries.

Key is considered the father of southern politics research after a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation resulted in his publication of the landmark book, Southern Politics in State and Nation (1949). The award named in his honor is given annually to the best book on southern politics.

In addition to authoring The Indicted South, Maxwell co-edited Unlocking V. O. Key, Jr.: Southern Politics for the Twenty-first Century (University of Arkansas Press, 2011) and The Ongoing Burden of Southern History: Politics and Identity in the Twenty-first Century South (Louisiana State University Press, 2012). She also edited a new edition of Ralph McGill's A Church, A School (University of South Carolina Press, 2012). Her research has appeared in the academic journals Southern Cultures, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Journal of Black Studies, American Behavioral Scientist, Race and Social Problems, Social Science Quarterly and The Southern Quarterly, among others. Her current book project is The Long Southern Strategy for Oxford University Press. 

Maxwell serves as co-chair of the Politics and Policy Caucus of the American Studies Association, has been a featured author at the Arkansas Literary Festival, been an invited guest speaker at several colleges and universities and has made multiple appearances as an expert on southern politics on MSNBC programs.

Maxwell currently serves as the director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society She is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and earned a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from the University of Arkansas and a doctorate in American studies from the University of Texas.

About the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society: The Diane D. 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.