Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 3.03 Politics
Presentation #1 Title
Where Appalachia Went Right: Pro-Coal Politics in the Era of Climate Change
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The presentation will take the form of a power point presentation accompanied by a short lecture. In 2000, every Central Appalachian state gave its electoral votes to the Republican nominee, George W. Bush. Such a moment had only come twice before in nearly 80 years: the first Reagan and second Nixon elections, both monumental Republican landslides. West Virginia had remained a consistently Democratic state in an increasingly Republican region until 2000, and Central Appalachian counties, particularly coalfield counties, had long been Democratic strongholds. However, in the 2000s a political transition occurred. By 2012, nearly every Central Appalachian county was voting for the Republican presidential candidate. With growing frequency, state and local politics appear to be following this Republican trend. This paper investigates how and why this transition occurred. This work relies on David York and Shannon Elizabeth Bell’s concept of community economic identity and Rebecca Scott’s analysis of how nature, race, gender, and difference are at play in Appalachian identities to examine this political transition. Mapping the intersections of an emerging pro-coal identity in the Appalachian coalfields and an emerging international environmentalism centered on climate change politics, the paper looks at diverse identity formation in Appalachia to understand electoral politics. These findings come from ethnographic research conducted at various times from 2009 to 2013, and an oral history conducted in Blair, West Virginia, during 2012.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Gabe Schwartzman conducted research on Appalachian geography, politics, and culture through his undergraduate at UC Berkeley. After finishing a BA in Geography he received the Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize to continue research as a Visiting Scholar to UC Berkeley and develop a digital storytelling web presence to document water crises in Appalachia.
Where Appalachia Went Right: Pro-Coal Politics in the Era of Climate Change
The presentation will take the form of a power point presentation accompanied by a short lecture. In 2000, every Central Appalachian state gave its electoral votes to the Republican nominee, George W. Bush. Such a moment had only come twice before in nearly 80 years: the first Reagan and second Nixon elections, both monumental Republican landslides. West Virginia had remained a consistently Democratic state in an increasingly Republican region until 2000, and Central Appalachian counties, particularly coalfield counties, had long been Democratic strongholds. However, in the 2000s a political transition occurred. By 2012, nearly every Central Appalachian county was voting for the Republican presidential candidate. With growing frequency, state and local politics appear to be following this Republican trend. This paper investigates how and why this transition occurred. This work relies on David York and Shannon Elizabeth Bell’s concept of community economic identity and Rebecca Scott’s analysis of how nature, race, gender, and difference are at play in Appalachian identities to examine this political transition. Mapping the intersections of an emerging pro-coal identity in the Appalachian coalfields and an emerging international environmentalism centered on climate change politics, the paper looks at diverse identity formation in Appalachia to understand electoral politics. These findings come from ethnographic research conducted at various times from 2009 to 2013, and an oral history conducted in Blair, West Virginia, during 2012.
