S. Kittrell Rushing - UTC History & Communication Departments

Dr. Kittrell Rushing

Frank McDonald Professor of Communication
Communication Department Head, 1991-2008
History Department, Interim Department Head 2008-2010

Dr. Rushing is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. His degrees are in political science and administration and management of higher education. Before joining the ranks of college teachers, Rushing worked for a number of years as a television journalist with Memphis television stations WMC and WHBQ. Rushing served in the United States Navy as a radioman during of the Vietnam War. He went to sea aboard the U.S.S. Atakapa (ATF-149) and the U.S.S. Papago (ATF-160).

Rushing came to UTC in 1982 from a journalism faculty position at the University of Mississippi. He is a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Professor Rushing is active in "electronic" communication. He is a "listserv" moderator and a member of the steering committees for the History and Macintosh Society (H-MAC), H-Net's US Civil War History discussion list (H-CIVWAR), and the journalism history "listserv" (J-HISTORY). Rushing is the custodian of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) History Division web site and maillist .

Rushing for many years was the co-organizer of the UTC Communication Department's West Chair Symposium on the "Antebellum Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression.

He most often taught UTC's COMM451, "Mass Communication Law and Ethics," COMM420, "Senior Seminar in Communication," COMM337, "Web Publishing," and COMM231, "Media Writing II."

Rushing is in 2009 and 2010 teaching courses on the history and culture of Scotland and United States journalism history.

Rushing's research interests include media of the 19th century, the abolitionist press, reconstruction era media, and 19th century women's issues. His hobbies include the history and culture of Scotland, videography, his dog, and world peace.

Rushing's most recent publication, Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer will be available in fall 2009 from the University of Tennessee Press.

Judge Andrews was the father of Eliza Frances Andrews. He lived through a tumultuous period of Southern history that included the Indian Removal, the founding of Chattanooga, the secession crisis, and emancipation. The Reminiscences center on memoirs written by Judge Andrews a few years before his 1873 death. In the memoir, Judge Andrews described his memories as a young lawyer in antebellum Georgia, slavery times, and his recollections of some of the men prominent in Georgia's early politics.

New Georgia Encyclopedia entry

Rushing's work with Judge Andrews developed from his earlier research realted to the judge's daughter, Eliza Frances Andrews' (1840-1931). Fanny Andrews wrote herfirst novel, A Family Secret partially to entertain her father. The work is a fictionalized account of Andrews' experiences during the last year of the Civil War. The novel was the top selling fiction work in the United States in 1876. The story is based on the author's experiences during the last year of the U. S. Civil War.

The novel is available from the University of Tennessee Press.

Rushing's interest in the works of Fanny Andrews began with his discovery in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga library archives in 1998 of Andrews' 1870-1872 diary. The diary chronicles a visit by Fanny and her younger sister Metta to wealthy Newark, New Jersey relatives.

The diary with notes and an introduction was published in 2002 by the University of Tennessee Press.

A short article about Fanny and her relationship to Chattanooga appeared in theSunday, October 15, 2006, edition of the Chattanooga News Free Press. The article is available here for your review in portable-document-format (.pdf).

New Georgia Encyclopedia entry

In addition to the Judge Andrews' project, Rushing is working with noted historian Nat Hughes on the Civil War memoirs of Constance Cary Harrison (1841-1920), the wife of President Jefferson Davis's private secretary, Burton N. Harrison. Mrs. Harrison's memoirs, originally published in 1911 as Recollections Grave and Gay describes life in wartime Richmond, Virginia, the fall of the Confederate Capital, and the treatment of Jefferson Davis and Burton Harrison by the United States after the war.

Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer, A Family Secret, and Journal of a Georgia Woman, 1870-1872 are available from the University of Tennessee Press or from on-line houses such as Amazon-dot-com or Barnes and Noble Book Sellers. Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer will be available in fall 2009.

Dr. Rushing is teaching the History of U.S. Journalism in Fall 2009. Course information is available through this link: History of U.S. Journalism, Fall 2009

"Under the Kilt: an intimate exploration of the history and culture of Scotland," a study abroad course to be offered in June 2010

Dr. Rushing will be facilitating again in the summer of 2010 a new version of a Scot's history and culture based reporting and production. The course is a joint project of UTC and the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad (CCSA)

Information about the "Under the Kilt" 2010 Scotland Adventure

A selection of photographs from the 2008 expedition.

Those who may have an interest in participating are invited to send an email expressing their interest to kit-rushing@utc.edu

Last updated: Sunday, August 2, 2009

	Rushing's most recent publication, Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer will be available in fall 2009 from the University of Tennessee Press. Judge Andrews was the father of Eliza Frances Andrews. He lived through a tumultuous period of Southern history that included the Indian Removal, the founding of Chattanooga, the secession crisis, and emancipation. The Reminiscences center on memoirs written by Judge Andrews a few years before his 1873 death. In the memoir, Judge Andrews described his memories as a young lawyer in antebellum Georgia, slavery times, and his recollections of some of the men prominent in Georgia's early politics. New Georgia Encyclopedia entry
	Rushing's work with Judge Andrews developed from his earlier research realted to the judge's daughter, Eliza Frances Andrews' (1840-1931). Fanny Andrews wrote herfirst novel, A Family Secret partially to entertain her father. The work is a fictionalized account of Andrews' experiences during the last year of the Civil War. The novel was the top selling fiction work in the United States in 1876. The story is based on the author's experiences during the last year of the U. S. Civil War. The novel is available from the University of Tennessee Press.
	Rushing's interest in the works of Fanny Andrews began with his discovery in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga library archives in 1998 of Andrews' 1870-1872 diary. The diary chronicles a visit by Fanny and her younger sister Metta to wealthy Newark, New Jersey relatives. The diary with notes and an introduction was published in 2002 by the University of Tennessee Press. A short article about Fanny and her relationship to Chattanooga appeared in theSunday, October 15, 2006, edition of the Chattanooga News Free Press. The article is available here for your review in portable-document-format (.pdf). New Georgia Encyclopedia entry
	In addition to the Judge Andrews' project, Rushing is working with noted historian Nat Hughes on the Civil War memoirs of Constance Cary Harrison (1841-1920), the wife of President Jefferson Davis's private secretary, Burton N. Harrison. Mrs. Harrison's memoirs, originally published in 1911 as Recollections Grave and Gay describes life in wartime Richmond, Virginia, the fall of the Confederate Capital, and the treatment of Jefferson Davis and Burton Harrison by the United States after the war.