معرفی
Clay Motley, Ph.D., serves as Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). He holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of South Carolina, along with an M.A. and B.A. in English Literature from Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, respectively. His scholarship focuses on Southern US culture, particularly its popular music and religious influences, with a current emphasis on Clarksdale, Mississippi’s music history and the Mississippi Delta region.
Dr. Motley has led honors programs and colleges at three universities since 2004 and has taught courses such as The History of Rock n' Roll and Life in Peru. He has published in journals like Southern Cultures and Religions, and his work appears in essay collections like Walking the Line: Country Lyricists and American Culture. His grants include a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant ($8,760) and a National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant ($86,152).
His research interests span blues, country, and rock music history, alongside topics like masculinity, religious identity, and cultural authenticity. He is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Society for the Study of Southern Literature, and has presented at conferences like the International Conference on the Blues and the Music of the South conference.
Dr. Motley is currently writing a book-length study on Clarksdale’s music history and frequently engages in public scholarship related to the Mississippi Delta’s cultural heritage.
