Anastatia Sims
Ph.D., University of North Carolina, 1985
M.A., University of North Carolina, 1976
Research Fields: US Women's and Gender History; Southern History
Teaching & Research Interests:
My teaching and research interests focus on the history of women and gender, especially in the American South. I have been particularly interested in several themes that intersect in southern women's history: ideals of femininity and how they shape women's lives; the ways in which women achieve power and influence; the significance of women's voluntary associations; and the intertwining of ideas about race and gender.
Currently I am writing a biography of Savannah native Juliette Gordon Low, who founded the Girl Scouts of the United States. Because Low is well-known to millions of present and former Girl Scouts, I have had several opportunities to share my research with the general public as well as with other scholars at conferences, meetings, Girl Scout reunions, and other events. In October 2005, I spoke at the 50 th National Convention of the Girl Scouts of the USA, which was held in Atlanta. In January 2006, I was invited to give a talk at my alma mater, the University of North Carolina. That presentation, entitled "Mother Cotton and Crazy Daisy," is available online at http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/devilatbay/simstalk.html .
My publications include The Power of Femininity in the New South: Women's Organizations and Politics in North Carolina, 1880-1930 (University of South Carolina Press, 1997 ); Negotiating the Boundaries of Southern Womanhood: Dealing with the Powers That Be (co-edited with Janet Coryell, Thomas Appleton, and Sandra G. Treadway, University of Missouri Press, 2000), and "Anne Firor Scott: Writing Women into Southern History" in Reading Southern History: Essays on Interpreters and Interpretations (Glenn Feldman, editor, University of Alabama Press, 2001).
Upper Division & Graduate Courses Taught:
Hist/WGST 3137 History of Women in the United States
Hist 4131 American Biography
Hist 7631 Readings in American Women's History
Address & Contact Information:
1143 Forest Building
PO Box 8054
Department of History
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA 30460-8054
Tel.: (912) 478-0181
Email: asims@georgiasouthern.edu
Fax: (912) 478-0377
