Participation Type
Poster
Session Title
Poster
Presentation #1 Title
The Gendered Language of Gravestones: A Comparative Study of Central and Northern Appalachian Cemeteries
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
From a sociological perspective, cemeteries reveal key details about the communities in which they are situated. The gravestone-its architecture, epitaph, iconography, and positioning within a cemetery-is a rhetorical device that reflects social and economic values of a particular era within the community. This qualitative study examines the gravestones of two public cemeteries in a western Pennsylvania township and in a far southwest Virginia town, and finds gendered rhetorical patterns in how men and women have been represented in death from the late 19th century to present day. These patterns can be linked to socio-cultural shifts in Appalachia in the past century, and suggests that its cemeteries also function as sites of rhetorical power for the living.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Amy Clark is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, and founding Co-Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Dalena Adams is a fourth-year Communications Studies major and member of the Highland Cavalier staff at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Alana Johnson is a third-year student and Communications Studies major at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
The Gendered Language of Gravestones: A Comparative Study of Central and Northern Appalachian Cemeteries
From a sociological perspective, cemeteries reveal key details about the communities in which they are situated. The gravestone-its architecture, epitaph, iconography, and positioning within a cemetery-is a rhetorical device that reflects social and economic values of a particular era within the community. This qualitative study examines the gravestones of two public cemeteries in a western Pennsylvania township and in a far southwest Virginia town, and finds gendered rhetorical patterns in how men and women have been represented in death from the late 19th century to present day. These patterns can be linked to socio-cultural shifts in Appalachia in the past century, and suggests that its cemeteries also function as sites of rhetorical power for the living.
