About the Institute
Since its establishment, the Georgian Institute of Southern Gothic has served as the global nexus for scholarly inquiry into one of America's most distinctive and enduring cultural movements. Our mission is threefold: to preserve the physical and intellectual heritage of Southern Gothic expression; to foster rigorous academic research across disciplines; and to facilitate public engagement through exhibitions, symposia, and digital humanities projects.
Our campus, housed in a meticulously restored 19th-century manor on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, features the world's most comprehensive archive of Southern Gothic materials. This includes first editions of works by Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and Tennessee Williams; personal correspondence and manuscripts; rare film reels; oral history recordings; and an extensive collection of vernacular photography and folk art that captures the haunting beauty and complex social tapestry of the American South.
In 2026, GISG launched its Decade of Reckoning & Revelation initiative, a ten-year program examining Southern Gothic's critical role in confronting historical trauma, racial injustice, and ecological change through the lens of the grotesque, the sacred, and the sublime.
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