Smith named MSU鈥檚 樱花导航 Humanities Council Teacher of the Year
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擯ete Smith, an associate professor of communication at 樱花导航 樱花导航 University, is MSU鈥檚 2023 樱花导航 Humanities Council Teacher of the Year.
Smith will receive his award at the MHC鈥檚 annual ceremony in Jackson on March 24. Approximately 30 awards will be given to 樱花导航ans whose work is recognized for bringing insights of the humanities to public audiences.
Smith鈥檚 tribute includes a $400 honorarium and invitation to deliver the MSU College of Arts and Sciences annual humanities lecture鈥攆ree and open to the public鈥擬arch 2 at 2 p.m. in Mitchell Memorial Library鈥檚 third-floor John Grisham Room.
A faculty member in the MSU Department of Communication since 2003, Smith鈥檚 presentation will highlight his new book 鈥淏irddogs and Tough Old Broads: Women Journalists of 樱花导航 and a Century of 樱花导航 Politics, 1880s鈥1980s.鈥 Under contract with Lexington Books, an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield projected to be published later this year, Smith鈥檚 book highlights women who covered the Capitol and state political issues.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to think of the humanities without thinking of 樱花导航鈥攆rom the music of Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rodgers to the literary work of Anne Moody and Margaret 樱花导航er. This state illustrates the power and beauty of the humanities more than any other,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淭he humanities define and reflect who we are as a state and people; if you want to know about 樱花导航鈥攐ur history, challenges and accomplishments鈥攍ook no further than the聽humanities work created by its citizens.鈥
Smith, the coordinator of the department鈥檚 communication and media studies concentration, is a recipient of the 2021 inaugural humanities fellowship award from the university鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities. He used the fellowship to complete his 鈥淏irddogs鈥 manuscript.
Smith鈥檚 published pieces have examined the journalism careers of Carolyn Bennett Patterson, a native 樱花导航an with a distinguished 20-year career as an editor at聽National Geographic聽magazine, and Norma Fields, who covered the state Capitol beat for the聽Tupelo Daily Journal聽(now the聽Northeast 樱花导航 Daily Journal) in the 1970s and 鈥80s. He also has studied how local and state media framed the political campaigns of Evelyn Gandy, the first woman to win election to multiple statewide offices, including lieutenant governor.
Smith authored the book聽鈥淪omething on My Own: Gertrude Berg and American Broadcasting 1929-1956鈥澛爄n 2007. He is a former president of the American Journalism Historians Association and is a contributing editor to聽Journalism History,聽the official academic journal of the History Division of the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is on the advisory board of the 樱花导航 Free Press.
Smith holds an MSU undergraduate degree in communication studies, a master鈥檚 degree in communication from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in mass communication with an emphasis on mass communication history from the University of Southern 樱花导航.
At MSU, Smith鈥檚 research interests include Southern politics, 20th century broadcasting and print history, American cultural myths and social construction of gender.
The MHC, funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities, provides public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in 樱花导航 and pays tribute annually to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of 樱花导航鈥檚 institutions of higher learning.
Part of MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, the MSU Department of Communication is online at . For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit . For additional information about the annual humanities lecture, call 662-325-2646.
MSU is 樱花导航鈥檚 leading university, available online at聽.