Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
An Overview of the Changing Population Dynamics in the Appalachian Region Around Shepherd University
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The purpose of this paper is to apply this year’s theme – Diversity and Unity, a New Appalachia – to the region surrounding Shepherd University. Unlike the Appalachian core, this peripheral region of Appalachia has been experiencing rapid population growth that has resulted in an increasingly diverse population composition. Population growth has been spurred on by both internal economic growth and the spatial growth of the metropolitan Washington D.C commuter shed. The in-migration has resulted in more ethnic diversity compared to the original base population of English, African-Americans, Scots-Irish, and Germans. Changes have also occurred in the region’s religious patterns and cultural landscape while the prevailing conservative political ethos has seen more continuity. Large differences in education attainment and economic well-being still separate the Appalachian area around Shepherd University from areas directly to the east.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dr. Joseph Guttmann grew up in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. A human geographer, his research focuses on land-use change in the urban-rural fringe. Joe was most recently employed by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville where he taught the Geography of Appalachia among other classes.
An Overview of the Changing Population Dynamics in the Appalachian Region Around Shepherd University
The purpose of this paper is to apply this year’s theme – Diversity and Unity, a New Appalachia – to the region surrounding Shepherd University. Unlike the Appalachian core, this peripheral region of Appalachia has been experiencing rapid population growth that has resulted in an increasingly diverse population composition. Population growth has been spurred on by both internal economic growth and the spatial growth of the metropolitan Washington D.C commuter shed. The in-migration has resulted in more ethnic diversity compared to the original base population of English, African-Americans, Scots-Irish, and Germans. Changes have also occurred in the region’s religious patterns and cultural landscape while the prevailing conservative political ethos has seen more continuity. Large differences in education attainment and economic well-being still separate the Appalachian area around Shepherd University from areas directly to the east.
