Email and the internet has led to a widespread transmission of a lot of jokes--some funny, and others not so funny. But these jokes often provide an interesting lens into the culture that produced or inspired them. In ENGL 282, to begin our discussions about being Southern, I’ve put together a collection of jokes about the culture of the American South. While these documents aren’t literature and aren’t written by Flannery O’Connor or William Faulkner, they nevertheless are textual productions that provide insight into our assumptions about the South and being Southern.

While you’re reading these jokes, think about the messages and stereotypes implicit in them--what conclusions would you draw about the South if these were your only source of information? Who would you think lived in the South? Which ones might have been written by Southerners themselves? And are all the rest by Yankees? Or *&%$ Yankees? Why do we assume it would only be a Southerner or a Yankee? Would a Midwesterner write a joke about the South? Why? Keep in mind that you’re likely to run across some potentially offensive material here, so be prepared.

Please print these out and be prepared to discuss them at our next class meeting.

I have copied these directly from various websites or email; most of these jokes no longer can be identified by author, but are widely available online.  If I have an original source, I have indicated it.  These all appear as they are currently being transmitted on the internet.