http://www.alabamasymposium.org/ Alabama Studies Symposium July 18-19, 2003, Montgomery, Alabama The Alabama Studies Symposium brings teachers and the general public together with humanities scholars for an in-depth exploration of Alabama's rich social, political and cultural heritage. The symposium offers attendees the opportunity to hear the latest in scholarship and to interact formally and informally with a large number of humanities scholars. In 2003 the symposium will be held in Montgomery on Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19. The keynote speaker will be Dr. J. Mills Thornton III, author of Dividing Lines: Municipal Politics and the Struggle for Civil Rights, described by Dr. Douglas Brinkley as "the most important book to be written on the civil rights movement in a decade . . ." Thornton will speak on machine politics and civil rights in Selma in 1965. Friday's program will conclude with a musical lecture by Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer, one of the country's premiere experts on African-American gospel music. Boyer will entertain and enlighten the audience with his overview of Alabama gospel music traditions. Each day will also feature special lunch-time programs on the restoration of the statue of Vulcan in Birmingham and the Confederate monument on Montgomery's Capitol Hill. An additional ten sessions will feature presentations on topics such as Fort Mims, Alabama's constitutions, antebellum and Civil War women, the Reconstruction era, convict labor, prostitution, the New Deal, World War II, and grassroots Civil Rights leaders. A final session on preserving civil rights sites in Alabama will feature historians, preservationists, and civil rights activists. Optional pre-conference workshops on Integrating Alabama Music Into the Curriculum, Teaching with Historic Places & Landscapes, and Alabama Sources on the Internet will also be offered on Thursday, July 17. B.J. Smothers List Moderator