Biscuits, cornbread, hot rolls, mile-high cakes, steaming cobblers — southern baking holds a towering place in the realm of American cookery. Founded on Native American, English, and African traditions, and raised in a hot, humid climate, southern baking developed in distinctive ways. We'll talk about how southerners over four centuries have shaped their baking around corn and flour and made it their own.

We are delighted to welcome the first speaker to give a Longone Lecture — a biennial lecture series exploring the history of food and drink in the United States. Rebecca Sharpless, Professor of History at Texas Christian University, writes on the intersections of food, women, and work in the American South.

Join us in person (Hatcher Gallery) or via Zoom (https://umich.zoom.us/j/93172475387). Light refreshments will be served, and copies of Professor Sharpless' recent books, "Grain and Fire: A History of Baking in the American South" and "People of the Wheat: Culture and Cultivation in North Texas" will be available for purchase.