Dissident Mama, episode 29 – Dr. John Devanny

John Devanny holds a Ph.D. in American History from the University of South Carolina. He resides in Front Royal, Virginia, where he teaches at Christendom College, writes, tends garden, and occasionally escapes to bird hunt or fly fish. Dr. Devanny is also a stockjobber, so his essays and lectures often deal with political economy and its intersections with history and current events. His work can be found at the Imaginative Conservative, Reckonin‘, and the Abbeville Institute.

I have been a fan of Devanny’s writing for years, but was blown away by his lecture “Who Owns America Today?” which was delivered at the Abbeville conference in Charleston last fall as a critique of the 1936 treatise “Who Owns America?: A New Declaration of Independence.” We touch on some of the imperative issues raised in that must-watch presentation, but we also delve into other topics, including what makes Marylanders Southern, what it was like to be a student under Dr. Clyde Wilson, and the sad state of academia and modern education. Devanny defines a few important terms, breaks down the Game Stop hubbub, explains the “tides of consolidation” and offers some advice on how best to handle these negative and overwhelming trends, both personally and politically.

Related content:
• Dr. Devanny’s “What Can Be Done?,” “Southern Identity and the Southern Tradition,” and a condensed print version of the Charleston speech, as well as his Abbeville lectures on Southern agrarians John Taylor of Caroline and John Randolph of Roanoke, and the economic and human costs of Reconstruction;
• “What the Editors Are Reading: Who Owns America?” by Jack Trotter;
• and “Who Really Owns America?” by Ralph Nader of all people.

Download this podcast, or check out the conversation on YouTube.

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