What is meant by Southern style?

So, in this era of mass communication, migration, business, technology and transportation, what makes the South unique?

Not much, at least not anymore, says Rick Bragg, best-selling author of "All Over but the Shoutin'." Bragg, a former New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner, now holds the University of Memphis journalism Chair of Excellence.

"A lot of the foundations of Southern culture are eroded, gone," said Bragg, an Alabama native. "It's regrettable, sad and yet inevitable."

Accents aren't as prevalent, Bragg said.

"Since I've been to Memphis, I've noticed that young adults and children don't have accents," Bragg said.

Diane Calhoun is coordinator of the Teen Appeal. Her parents come from different regions of the country. Calhoun said she has maintained her Southern accent, though Bragg disagreed.

Some examples Bragg listed of vanishing Southern culture included the decline of Southern textile and steel mills and the cotton industry. Some activities are wrongly associated as uniquely Southern, such as stock car racing, bass fishing and even football, Bragg said.

Indeed, anyone who regularly follows the University of Michigan football team can recall the thousands of students attending the game who do push-ups in unison for each Wolverine touchdown as a mark of fanaticism.

Auto racing isn't distinctly Southern, said Bragg, who referred to Jeff Gordon, winner of many NASCAR circuits "as Southern as a snowmobile."

Bragg said many stereotypes about Southern culture are exacerbated, creating a series of clichés that worries him.

"Sometimes, when I go to Wal-Mart, I'll see people walking around in camouflage," Bragg said. "Camo isn't fashion, it's a tool."Being Southern is not about owning an AK-47. It's more like owning a good Remington 12-gauge."

Bragg referred to country music artist Gretchen Wilson's hit single, "Redneck Woman" as an example of the clichéd culture he speaks about.

He said that although the Southern struggle during the Great Depression was obviously tragic, it was more compelling. It is for that reason, partly, that Bragg enjoys pondering past generations of Southerners and their lifestyles.

Some Southern traditions don't die. Instead, they expand.Music is one area where the South has actually been modeled after, said Dr. David Evans, professor of music at The U of M.

"Southern music has actually become very mainstream," said Evans. "In some places in Canada, rockabilly music is bigger than in Memphis."

Evans has lectured about blues-style music to seemingly unorthodox audiences, having spoken in Germany, France, Slovenia, Poland and Italy.

"There are gospel quartets all over Europe because there's such a wide spectrum of music available to the whole world," Evans said. "I've met lots of blues artists in Europe and trust me, there are some mighty good ones."

Religious values are very strong in the South, Evans said, a trait that has gained momentum in other geographical regions.

"The values and interests of this nation have been largely normalized and 'Southernized,'" Evans said. "Its gained strength throughout the country."

The professor's comment adds up, especially politically.

In the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, George W. Bush swept the southeast, a former Democratic stronghold that did not generally share similar political opinions with many in other American geographical regions. Bush also enjoyed support in the Southwest, Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, suggesting a sharing of values among the regions.

To Southerners upset about the disappearance of "the good old times," there is still reason to be proud.

"The South still has places where you can get some really good food," Bragg said. "I was at the Louisiana Book Festival and had some good, real gumbo.

"We won't turn loose the good food."The South still has some unique traditions that haven't met its powerful influence.

"(Rac)Coon hunters," Bragg said. "That's still southern."