Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 5.11 Religion and Activism
Presentation #1 Title
The Appalachian Imagination: Theology and Dissent in an Urban Periphery
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In his analysis of the capitalist fragmentation of modern life, French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre defined imagination as knowing ‘how to use the past in order to invent the future.’ For Lefebvre, imagination – a praxis of the image – helps communities retrieve, however partially, the spontaneity and emotional sensuality of poetic life. Perhaps more importantly, it is through imaginative creativity, when coupled with radical political action, that people can resist the hegemonic catastrophe of industrial capitalism. This paper seeks to retrieve this important dimension of Lefebvre’s work in analyzing the colonization of Appalachia’s theological imagination. Building on the work of Deborah Vansau McCauley and Roger Cunningham, I claim that one of the effects of industrialization in the Appalachian Mountains is the dramatic conquest of the region’s theological imagination. The intensification of industrial resource extraction that occurred in the region not only transformed the traditionally agrarian economy, it simultaneously effected the religious imagination of the region’s inhabitants. I contend that, in addition to the ‘denominalization’ of Appalachian religion, the home missionary movement facilitated the urbanization of its theological imagination. Consequentially, this dramatic shift ‘de-naturalized’ and ‘de-mystified’ the region’s theological character, wherein the urbanization of Appalachia precipitated the devastation of the region’s physical and mental spaces, in turn colonizing its theological imagination. I contend that retrieving elements of Appalachian’s mountain religiosity, while incorporating various elements from across Christian theology, might offer contemporary residents an opportunity to construct an imaginative theological dissent against the continued devastation of the region.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
I am a native of Wise County, VA and earned a B.A. in History form the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and an M.A. in Theological Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. I am in my fifth year of the PhD program in Theology at the University of Dayton, currently working on a dissertation focusing on the intersection of Appalachian Studies, Ecological Philosophy, and Biblical Theology.
The Appalachian Imagination: Theology and Dissent in an Urban Periphery
Harris Hall 136
In his analysis of the capitalist fragmentation of modern life, French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre defined imagination as knowing ‘how to use the past in order to invent the future.’ For Lefebvre, imagination – a praxis of the image – helps communities retrieve, however partially, the spontaneity and emotional sensuality of poetic life. Perhaps more importantly, it is through imaginative creativity, when coupled with radical political action, that people can resist the hegemonic catastrophe of industrial capitalism. This paper seeks to retrieve this important dimension of Lefebvre’s work in analyzing the colonization of Appalachia’s theological imagination. Building on the work of Deborah Vansau McCauley and Roger Cunningham, I claim that one of the effects of industrialization in the Appalachian Mountains is the dramatic conquest of the region’s theological imagination. The intensification of industrial resource extraction that occurred in the region not only transformed the traditionally agrarian economy, it simultaneously effected the religious imagination of the region’s inhabitants. I contend that, in addition to the ‘denominalization’ of Appalachian religion, the home missionary movement facilitated the urbanization of its theological imagination. Consequentially, this dramatic shift ‘de-naturalized’ and ‘de-mystified’ the region’s theological character, wherein the urbanization of Appalachia precipitated the devastation of the region’s physical and mental spaces, in turn colonizing its theological imagination. I contend that retrieving elements of Appalachian’s mountain religiosity, while incorporating various elements from across Christian theology, might offer contemporary residents an opportunity to construct an imaginative theological dissent against the continued devastation of the region.
