Creator: Ferris, William R.
Collection number: 20367
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Abstract: William R. Ferris (1942- ), born and raised in Vicksburg, Miss., is an author, folklorist, filmmaker, professor, photographer, administrator, and scholar chiefly working in the areas of African American and southern culture. Among his many published works is the “Encyclopedia of Southern Culture,” which he co-edited with Charles Reagan Wilson. Papers, photographs, slides, sound recordings, videotapes, films, and other materials documenting Ferris’s life and work. Professional papers relate to his teaching career at Jackson State University, Yale University, the University of Mississippi, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Papers, images, and recordings document life in Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta; folk, blues, gospel, fife and drum corps music, and other musical types; folk and music festivals; folk arts, culture, and humor; “Highway 61”; the Ku Klux Klan; prisons, especially Parchman Farm (Mississippi State Penitentiary); auctioneers; and other topics. Films and videotapes include footage of Ferris’s documentaries. Individuals important in the collection include writers, artists, musicians, political figures, and others. Note that subjects and names significant in the collection are cataloged separately.
Repository: Southern Folklife Collection
Collection Highlights: Papers, images, and recordings document life in Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta; folk, blues, gospel, fife and drum corps music, and other musical types; folk and music festivals; folk arts, culture, and humor; Highway 61; the Ku Klux Klan; prisons, especially Parchman Farm (Mississippi State Penitentiary); auctioneers; and other topics. Films and videotapes include footage of Ferris’s documentaries. Individuals important in the collection include writers, artists, musicians, political figures, and others.