Participation Type
Roundtable
Session Title
Session 9.16 Appalachian Studies
Session Abstract or Summary
This roundtable will honor the career contributions of historian Ron Eller to Appalachian Studies. Ron Eller has mentored several generations of Appalachian historians, and has retired recently from the University of Kentucky. The roundtable will provide perspectives on his contributions to Appalachian Studies as an historian, environmentalist, and avid supporter of sustainable and just futures for Appalachian communities. He and his students have followed closely the federal Appalachian Regional Commission policies and community actions in the War on Poverty, long-term land use and effects of extractive industries, and stewardship and sustainability conversations in Appalachia. Several of his former students and colleagues will make brief remarks in the roundtable, some comments will be read from those who cannot be present (including Ron Lewis, Margaret Brown, and Maryjean Wall), and there will be an opportunity to share comments from among those gathered. Roundtable speakers will include Stephanie Lang, Thomas Kiffmeyer, Jason Howard, and Dwight Billings. Ann Kingsolver will moderate. Ron Eller will attend.
Presentation #1 Title
Learning from the Past for a Sustainable Future in Appalachia: Celebrating the Career of Ron Eller
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This roundtable will honor the career contributions of historian Ron Eller to Appalachian Studies. Ron Eller has mentored several generations of Appalachian historians, and has retired recently from the University of Kentucky. The roundtable will provide perspectives on his contributions to Appalachian Studies as an historian, environmentalist, and avid supporter of sustainable and just futures for Appalachian communities. He and his students have followed closely the federal Appalachian Regional Commission policies and community actions in the War on Poverty, long-term land use and effects of extractive industries, and stewardship and sustainability conversations in Appalachia. Several of his former students and colleagues will make brief remarks in the roundtable, some comments will be read from those who cannot be present (including Ron Lewis, Margaret Brown, and Maryjean Wall), and there will be an opportunity to share comments from among those gathered. Roundtable speakers will include Stephanie Lang, Thomas Kiffmeyer, Jason Howard, and Dwight Billings. Ann Kingsolver will moderate. Ron Eller will attend.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Ann Kingsolver is Director of the Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Kentucky.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Stephanie Lang is the Research and Genealogy Historian for the Polk County History Counter in Florida. She received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Kentucky, and is a native of Prestonsburg, KY. Her work focuses on the early history of the broad form deed and examines the complexities surrounding land ownership.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Dwight Billings is a professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of numerous scholarly works on Appalachia. He is also a past president of the Appalachian Studies Association and a past editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Jason Howard teaches at Berea College, and is the editor of Appalachian Heritage. He is the author of A Few Honest Words: The Kentucky Roots of Popular Music and co-author of Something’s Rising: Appalachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and an MA in history from the University of Kentucky.
Thomas Kiffmeyer is Associate Professor of History at Morehead State University, and author of Reformers to Radicals: The Appalachian Volunteers and the War on Poverty.
Ron Eller is Professor Emeritus of History, University of Kentucky. He grew up in West Virginia, and has dedicated his entire career to Appalachian Studies as an historian. His books include Miners, Millhands and Mountaineers: The Industrialization of the Appalachian South, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945.
Learning from the Past for a Sustainable Future in Appalachia: Celebrating the Career of Ron Eller
This roundtable will honor the career contributions of historian Ron Eller to Appalachian Studies. Ron Eller has mentored several generations of Appalachian historians, and has retired recently from the University of Kentucky. The roundtable will provide perspectives on his contributions to Appalachian Studies as an historian, environmentalist, and avid supporter of sustainable and just futures for Appalachian communities. He and his students have followed closely the federal Appalachian Regional Commission policies and community actions in the War on Poverty, long-term land use and effects of extractive industries, and stewardship and sustainability conversations in Appalachia. Several of his former students and colleagues will make brief remarks in the roundtable, some comments will be read from those who cannot be present (including Ron Lewis, Margaret Brown, and Maryjean Wall), and there will be an opportunity to share comments from among those gathered. Roundtable speakers will include Stephanie Lang, Thomas Kiffmeyer, Jason Howard, and Dwight Billings. Ann Kingsolver will moderate. Ron Eller will attend.
