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  • A street market in South London. Photo credit Kim Jones.
  • Students in a Qualitative Research Methods class and members of the APO Service Learning fraternity celebrate Halloween 2009 with children at the East Burlington Community Center. Photo credit Kim Jones.
  • Apple pressing in Cowee, NC 2008 as part of research conducting through PERCS. Photo credit Kirsten Rhodes.
  • NC potter Mark Hewitt with a clay coil for a large pot in Pittsboro, NC 2005. Photo credit Tom Mould.
  • A young woman getting her lip pierced at Kingpin Tattoo in Greensboro, NC 2002. Photo credit Lauren Vilis & Samiha Khanna.

Perceptions of the Confederate Flag

From the highly publicized debates over the Confederate flag flying over the SC statehouse until recently, tothe frequent and unheralded display of the flag on bumper stickers and ball caps throughout the South, the Confederate flag has been a contentious symbol with advocates and opponents equally passionate about its meaning and appropriateness. This research project involves interviewing self-identified southern and northern men and women, black and white, between the ages of 18-30, about their perceptions of the Confederate flag. The study is longitudinal and will be tracking shifts over time.


Key concepts this project will address include: stereotype, race, class and politics in the US South, constructions of regional identity, symbolic interpretation, and material culture.

So far, student researchers have participated in this project as members of Tom Mould’s “Cultures of the South” class. However, PERCS welcomes students interested in participating in this research project whether or not they are in or have taken this class. If you are interested in becoming involved, please email Tom Mould at tmould@elon.edu.