People of the Upper Cumberland: Achievements and Contradictions | A Brown Bag Lecture with Calivn Dickinson & Michael Birdwell

In a Brown Bag Lecture on Wednesday, October 12, Tennessee Technological University professors Calvin Dickinson and Michael Birdwell will discuss their new book People of the Upper Cumberland: Achievements and Contradictions. The anthology, recently named the “Tennessee History Book of the Year” by the Tennessee Library Association, presents a complex view of the rich history and culture of the Tennessee-Kentucky Upper Cumberland, an area composed of the 24 counties that mostly border the eastern half of the Cumberland River. Birdwell and Dickinson will discuss the history of the region, politicians, moonshiners, changing medical practices, women’s roles, race relations, and more. Also featured will be a few of the Upper Cumberland’s most famous residents, Cordell Hull, John Gore, John Catron, Charles Faulkner Bryan, and Champ Ferguson. The book will be available for purchase and signing by Dickinson and Birdwell following the lecture.  

Dr. Michael E. Birdwell is a professor of history at Tennessee Technological University and the author of several books, including Celluloid Soldiers: Warner Brothers Campaign against Nazism and Rural Life and Culture of the Upper Cumberland. Birdwell also serves as the chair of the Tennessee Great Wars Commission. Dr. W. Calvin Dickinson is a professor emeritus of history at Tennessee Technological University. He currently serves on the Tennessee Historical Commission and has written or co-authored more than 22 books, including Sister States, Enemy States: The Civil War in Kentucky and Tennessee and Tennessee: State of the Nation.

The program is sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC and is free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org.