Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Roundtable
Session Title
Political Economy in Practice: Career Contributions of Dwight Billings to Appalachian Studies
Session Abstract or Summary
Dwight Billings has contributed strongly to shaping the conversation in Appalachian Studies over the past forty years through both his academic focus on political economy and his commitment to equity in who’s at the table in that conversation. The presenters in this roundtable will discuss facets of his career contributions to Appalachian Studies as a scholar, teacher and mentor, social justice activist, and colleague. Thoughts will also be shared from afar and invited from those in the room. Dwight Billings’ passionate commitment to documenting and challenging social and economic inequality in the Appalachian region has been consistently evident from his 1976 doctoral dissertation on the social history of class stratification in Appalachian North Carolina and throughout his career. He has helped to build an active interdisciplinary and inclusive Appalachian Studies network through his administrative terms in the Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies at the University of Kentucky, his editorship of the Journal of Appalachian Studies and advocacy of the publication of books in Appalachian Studies, his presidency of the Appalachian Studies Association, and his strong encouragement of new generations of scholars and activists focused on social change and equity in Appalachia. Professor Billings has countered isolationist views of Appalachia by considering the region’s international political economic context through his many collaborative publications, lectures, and dialogues, including in the World Social Forum. He has a keen eye for structural inequality, and has brought that critical perspective to every aspect of his writing, mentorship, and activism in and beyond the academy.
Presentation #1 Title
[no individual presentation titles or abstracts to be printed]
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Note to program reviewers: we do not expect these abstracts to be published, since this is a roundtable, but are providing them so that you can see what we hope to discuss in the session. Dwight Billings will be in attendance, but does not wish to be a formal respondent as part of the roundtable. The first presentation, by the convener, will introduce the roundtable with a quick overview of the facets of Dwight Billings' career contributions to Appalachian Studies being discussed in the formal presentations, a reading of comments sent by those unable to attend in person, and an invitation to those present to consider standing and making remarks after the last formal presentation. (The formal presenters' remarks will be 5 minutes each, leaving time for this.)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Ann Kingsolver is Professor of Anthropology and former director of the Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program at the University of Kentucky. Her work as an ethnographer focuses on how people situated in different ways talk about experiences, interpretations and contestations of global capitalist practices and policies.
Presentation #2 Title
[no individual presentation titles or abstracts to be printed]
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
This presentation draws upon experiences with Dwight Billings--from the early meetings of the ASA and my time as a Still Fellow, to more recent work as colleagues at UK--to describe Dwight's approach to mentoring and teaching, as well as about scholarship on the region. In brief, Dwight has employed a hermeneutics of generosity and respect in his interactions with students, colleagues, and potential contributors to the JAS and the University Press of Kentucky. Throughout, he has demonstrated the importance of scholarship that is critically engaged, well grounded empirically, and attentive to the full range of methodologies comprising qualitative research.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Mary Anglin is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kentucky and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Appalachian Studies. Her work addresses issues of health inequalities, the effects of environmental pollution, relations of advocacy and social justice.
Presentation #3 Title
[no individual presentation titles or abstracts to be printed]
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will be about collaborating with Dwight Billings in bringing Appalachian Studies students to the archives to learn directly from historical sources. For nearly twenty years, Dwight and I conducted pedagogical experiments by bringing students to UK's Appalachian Collection, where we hoped they could better understand the region's past by examining, questioning, and interpreting its historical archive.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Kate Black was on the Appalachian Studies faculty at the University of Kentucky for twenty-five years. She served as curator of the Appalachian Collection.
Presentation #4 Title
[no individual presentation titles or abstracts to be printed]
Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will be about Dwight's mentorship in research on the transition of Kentucky's agricultural economy away from tobacco and toward diversification of agriculture, as well as economic and energy issues - particularly discussions of "clean coal" - in the Appalachian region.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Jenrose Fitzgerald is Grant Program Manager at the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She has worked on citizen science projects as a postdoctoral fellow, research associate, and Appalachian Studies instructor at the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky.
Presentation #5 Title
[no individual presentation titles or abstracts to be printed]
Presentation #5 Abstract or Summary
I will be speaking about Dwight's influence on my sense of the place of teaching in and about Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #5
Rebecca Adkins Fletcher is Assistant Professor in the Department of Appalachian Studies and Assistant Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University. Her work engages the intersections of health disparities, access to health care, economic transformation, gender, and activism in Appalachia.
Presentation #6 Title
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Presentation #6 Abstract or Summary
Having known Dwight for three decades, I will share stories of his accomplishments and leadership as a scholar and friend.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #6
Wilburn Hayden is a Professor in the School of Social Work at York University in Toronto. He is a noted social work educator and practitioner, community organizer and Appalachian Scholar. He has been the President of the Appalachian Studies Association.
NOTE: Per instructions from Emily Satterwhite, the information for presenters 7 and 8 is being entered here at the end of presenter #6's information.
Presenter #7: Katherine Ledford
Abstract:
Dwight Billings has been a crucial mentor in my intellectual and professional life. During my days as a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky in the late 1990s, Dwight took me under his wing, serving on my dissertation committee, involving me for the first time in the Appalachian Studies Association by placing me on the 1998 conference program committee, and giving me a precious commodity in academia--a co-editing position with him and Gurney Norman on a book. Dwight quite literally taught me how to be a mentor to my own graduate students, how to nurture and support them. And he did this for me when I was a doctoral student not in sociology, but in English. Only later, once I became a professor myself, did I understand the generosity he exhibited in crossing departmental boundaries to help a graduate student without an Appalachianist in her how department. Dwight embodies the best qualities of a mentor and I look forward to contributing to the stories marking this transition time in his professional and personal life.
Contact information:
Katherine Ledford, Associate Professor
Center for Appalachian Studies
Appalachian State University
P.O. Box 32018
305 Bodenheimer Drive
Boone, NC 28608-2018
828-262-4087
Bio:
Katherine Ledford holds a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Kentucky and is now Associate Professor of Appalachian Studies in the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University. She is a past president of the Appalachian Studies Association and founding chair of the ASA's international connections committee.
Presenter # 8: Shaunna Scott
Abstract:
Shaunna Scott will be discussing the impact of Dwight Billings' teaching and graduate student mentoring on Appalachian Studies and Sociology at the University of Kentucky, with particular emphasis on his ability to synthesize theoretical paradigms, advance theory in Appalachian Studies, and develop a critical regional studies focus. I'd also like to touch on the sheer number of students he has mentored as well as his special capacity to simultaneously challenge and support students in their research and scholarly activities.
Contact information:
Shaunna Scott
Department of Sociology
1557 Patterson Office Tower
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0027
859-257-6882
Bio:
Shaunna Scott is the editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies, Director of Appalachian Studies at the University of Kentucky, and former President of the ASA. With Chad Berry and Phil Obermiller, she co-edited the Weatherford Award winning non-fiction, Studying Appalachian Studies: Making the Path by Walking.
[no individual presentation titles or abstracts to be printed]
Note to program reviewers: we do not expect these abstracts to be published, since this is a roundtable, but are providing them so that you can see what we hope to discuss in the session. Dwight Billings will be in attendance, but does not wish to be a formal respondent as part of the roundtable. The first presentation, by the convener, will introduce the roundtable with a quick overview of the facets of Dwight Billings' career contributions to Appalachian Studies being discussed in the formal presentations, a reading of comments sent by those unable to attend in person, and an invitation to those present to consider standing and making remarks after the last formal presentation. (The formal presenters' remarks will be 5 minutes each, leaving time for this.)
