‘Southern Mountain Culture and Crime’ to be topic of Feb. 15 lecture

The concept of a culture of violence in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region and across the South will be discussed during a free public lecture at Western Carolina University on Monday, Feb. 15.

J. Mitchell Miller, professor of criminal justice at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will present “Southern Mountain Culture and Crime” at 7 p.m. in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center.

A fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Miller served on the criminal justice faculty at the University of South Carolina from 1996 to 2006, where he also was director of the Southern Region Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention Center. A former president of the Southern Criminal Justice Association, he is the author of eight books and more than 70 articles focusing on criminological theory, deviant subcultures and criminal justice program evaluation.

Miller earned his doctorate at the University of Tennessee, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Middle Tennessee State University.

Part of the university’s Visiting Scholars Program, Miller’s presentation is sponsored by WCU’s department of criminology and criminal justice, department of history and College of Health and Human Sciences.

For more information, contact Fred Hawley, professor of criminal justice, at 828-227-2171.