Women’s History: �� Faculty Book Talk highlights century of women journalists’ experiences

A promotional graphic for Pete Smith's book talk

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State College of Arts and Sciences faculty members are continuing to tackle social issues during Women’s History Month in the 2023-2024 �� Faculty Book Talk series––highlighting Pete Smith, associate professor in ��’s Department of Communication, for the second of three talks this semester.

Free to all, Smith’s presentation is March 22, 3:30 p.m., in the John Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library. Smith will discuss his book “Birddogs and Tough Old Broads: Women Journalists of Mississippi and a Century of State Politics, 1880s-1980s.”

The Lexington Books publication––an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield––was released in October and documents the professional experiences and observations of more than a dozen women journalists covering Mississippi state politics from the 1880s, after the end of Reconstruction––when newspapers were the primary source of information––to the 1980s, a time period marked by steady declines in both news revenue and circulation, and the emergence of corporate journalism.

“The �� Faculty Book Talk series celebrates academic books and the �� faculty who write them,” said Eric Vivier, �� associate professor of English and series director.

“These events are great opportunities for faculty to share their research with the �� community and great opportunities for the �� community to learn about the research happening on campus,” said Vivier, a faculty fellow with ��’s Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College.

This year’s Faculty Book Talk series concludes April 19 with a discussion by Joseph Thompson—an assistant professor in the Department of History—on his book “Cold War Country: How Nashville’s Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism.” The University of North Carolina Press publication is expected to be released April 2.

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