Marcus Cunliffe Centre for the Study of the American South was founded in 2007. The Cunliffe Centre facilitates high-quality research in all aspects of the American South from the period of early English settlement to the present. Fellows of the Cunliffe Centre are award-winning historians of the United States with international reputations who are active scholars, writers, and teachers; this cohort of experts is one of the strongest concentrations of historians of the American South outside the United States. The Cunliffe Centre's main purpose is to build on this strength by supporting outstanding postgraduate research on all aspects of Southern history. The Cunliffe Centre is also committed to enhancing research networks between scholars in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and to provide channels for the transfer of knowledge in this important field to the broader public.
As the major institution of research on the American South in Europe, the Cunliffe Centre encourages applications for postgraduate study. The resident historians at the Centre are leading scholars in the field and have published a wide range of books and articles on the rich history of the South. They offer cutting-edge expertise on key topics in Southern history including slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, labour and working-class history, rural culture, segregation, the civil rights movement, massive resistance, southern religion, Civil War memory, and British perceptions of the American South.
The Cunliffe Centre offers a one-year MPhil and a three-year DPhil through the faculty in American Studies.
The Cunliffe Centre aims to nurture a vibrant research culture. It hosts the prestigious annual Marcus Cunliffe Lecture Series, which is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This series is designed to bring together the very best scholars in the field to stimulate debate on critical issues in the southern past. Contributors to the Cunliffe Lectures include: Eric Foner, Columbia University; Walter Johnson, Harvard University; Steven Hahn, University of Pennsylvania; and Patricia Sullivan, University of South Carolina.
For more information please the Marcus Cunliffe Centre website.