Digital Humanities Collaborative Faculty Fellows Film Premiere

“Keepers of the Flame Fan the Flames of Change: A Digital Oral History Project on Georgia Women in Barbecue” 

Film Premier: Wednesday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. in A&S Auditorium. Reception immediately afterward at 7:00 p.m. in Chappell Hall 113.

Students, faculty and staff, and the local community are invited to attend.

Presented by Craig Pascoe, Professor of History, and James Hill "Trae" Welborn, III, Associate Professor of History, Department of History and Geography.

This project is two mini-documentaries that focus on two women pitmasters/bbq restaurant owners in Georgia—Jenica Gilmore of Vanna BBQ in Vanna and Tammy Woodard of Smokey’s BBQ in Pooler. 

This is the first two episodes in a planned series of mini-documentaries about the role and importance of women in the region’s barbecue traditions both in the past and the present. Our focus in this series will be on women pitmasters and restaurant owners operating in a ‘traditionally male dominated’ profession who have overcome adversity and a wall of “tradition” that blocked their entrance into the business of barbecue. We also examine women’s efforts to keep their businesses afloat during COVID, barbecue as an entrepreneurial opportunity for women who do not have the financial means to open a large business, maintaining a culinary tradition in the region, and acceptance by the local community. 

Special thanks to the Digital Humanities Collaborative for providing the funds and support in creating an innovative way to use digital technology to educate students on the history and culture of the American South through the lens of food.

For information on the event, see the Digital Humanities Collaborative Events page.