Published on November 6, 2009  

History professor Dr. John Mayfield was recently nominated for the prestigious Lincoln Prize for his book Counterfeit Gentlemen: Manhood and Humor in the Old South by the University Press of Florida. “Counterfeit Gentlemen explores the bewildering task of being a ‘man’ in the Old South and looks at how Southern writers used humor to negotiate the path between the traditional culture of honor and the emerging culture of the market revolution, or between being a cavalier and a con man,” Dr. Mayfield said.

The Lincoln Prize is awarded each year to the “finest scholarly work in English on Abraham Lincoln, or the American Civil War soldier, or a subject relating to their era,” according to their website.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.