Swerve South

Jaime Harker, Theresa Starkey•sarahisomcenter.org

Swerve South explores gender, sexuality, popular culture, and the US South through lively conversations with Jaime Harker and Theresa Starkey, the director and associate director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi. Join us as we talk with UM professors and visitors that swerve from common preconceptions about the US South.

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Episodes

Special Guest Baker Rogers

In this episode of Swerve South, Jaime is joined by Baker Rogers who is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia Southern University. Jaime had some time to check in with Baker who is at the University of Mississippi to speak at the first annual Trans Summit! Listen to Jaime and Baker discuss the complexities of growing up in religiously conservative spaces, discovering self through college, and challenging the narrative that queer people only exist in urban metropolitan spaces. In this ep...

Apr 08, 2020•29 min•Season 2Ep. 2

Special Guest Mandy Carter

Welcome to a special episode of Swerve South! Join Jaime for an inspirational conversation with Civil Rights Activist and founder of Southerners on New Ground, Mandy Carter. In this episode, Mandy tells a bit of her fascinating life story and offers a history lesson through the lens of her life and work for 50 years in Civil Rights movements. In addition to an exceptional history lesson, you’ll also hear a discussion of activism, coalition building, intentionality of organizing, and the power of...

Apr 01, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 1

An Introduction to the Invisible Histories Project

Welcome to this week’s episode of Swerve South! Once again, we have a special and exciting episode to share. This week, we are thrilled to introduce the “ Invisible Histories Project ” with professors Amy McDowell of Sociology, Jessica Wilkerson of History and Southern Studies, and our host, Jaime Harker of English and the Isom Center. Join us for a discussion about queer spaces in the South, how community is created and fostered throughout the region, and the important work that is being done t...

Dec 25, 2019•44 min•Season 1Ep. 6

A Conversation with Samantha Allen

Welcome to Swerve South! Join your host Jaime Harker for a discussion with special guest Samantha Allen, award winning journalist and author of Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States. In this episode, Jaime and Samantha dish on their Mormon upbringing and how it impacted their journeys of self-realization within the queer community. Samantha’s path from the buttoned-up and gender rigid state of Utah, to her 2-month long road trip through the red states proves there are queer communitie...

Dec 18, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5

A Special Discussion with Latinx band Chócola!

Welcome to a special edition of Swerve South! This week, our episode begins with a little history and appreciation for those who paved the way for our generation of women’s and gender scholars. Theresa and Jaime start the episode with a little background on events hosted by the Sarah Isom Center for Women’s and Gender Studies to scaffold a discussion with Chócola , a Latinx band out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The band came to the University of Mississippi to headline the Sarah Isom Center’s a...

Dec 11, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Tea Time: Race, Power, and Podcasting

Join your host Jaime Harker as she sips the tea with Karen Tongson and Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh in a tell-all session about the life, legacy, and demise of their beloved Podcast, Pop Rocket. Karen and Wynter delve into the gendered and racial dynamics of their parent company’s decision to disband the production of Pop Rocket and share how they created a strong bond and resolve to forge on with their own iteration of the show. Karen and Wynter are now hosts of their own Podcast, Waiting to X-Hal...

Dec 04, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Our Feminist Evolutions

Join Jaime and Theresa for a fun conversation about the influence of 80’s pop culture, badass female rock stars, gender, and rebellion in their lives. Get an inside look at the power of music for Theresa who grew up in a punk rock space and another outlook from Jaime regarding the power of punk rock in a suburban setting for a teenager trying to break free. In this episode, we hear some first-hand experiences from the hosts about the evolution of their interests in gender and culture through the...

Dec 02, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Introduction

Welcome to Swerve South! Join your hosts, Jaime Harker and Theresa Starkey, director and co-director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi as they introduce their new adventure in podcasting. Swerve South is a non-mainstream look at the world through the lens of the rebellious, unexpected, radical space of the Deep South. In this introductory episode, your hosts discuss their intentions for the podcast: to veer from the norm and discuss all things...

Nov 18, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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