Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Roundtable
Session Title
Appalachian Studies Anachronisms: A Roundtable Discussion
Session Abstract or Summary
Since its inception in the 1970s, Appalachian Studies scholars and activists have worked to mediate, and at times rebuke, the region’s romanticized and stereotyped characterizations. And yet the very concept of a field of Appalachian studies inherently argues for an exclusivity and uniqueness that easily reinforces those romanticized notions. As this field of study enters its fifth decade, voices across this discipline are calling for recognition of Appalachia’s politically, economically and ethnically diverse histories, advocating for the field to continue to develop an interdisciplinary identity. Our question is whether “Appalachia” is a term under which these histories can truly be recognized, or whether the term itself can only inherently peripheralize and obscure these realities.
To explore this question a roundtable hosted by ETSU Appalachian Studies graduate students will briefly present 8 themes or topics that have been historically characterized as unique to Appalachia. Participants will then discuss how these themes characterize the region, obscure its history, and/or can be applied to other national or global experiences. In the introduction to the collection Studying Appalachian Studies (2015), Chad Berry, Phillip Obermiller and Shaunna Scott state, “It is not useful to think of the Appalachian region as exceptional and distinctive but, rather, to scrutinize its similarity and connection to other places…charting a middle course between an overgeneralized universalism and an exclusionary individualism…is clearly no easy task.” This conversation will help explore the challenges and strengths of charting that middle course, and raise questions about the many paths the field can take at its next stage of evolution.
Presentation #1 Title
Appalachian Studies Anachronisms: A Roundtable Discussion
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Since its inception in the 1970s, Appalachian Studies scholars and activists have worked to mediate, and at times rebuke, the region’s romanticized and stereotyped characterizations. And yet the very concept of a field of Appalachian studies inherently argues for an exclusivity and uniqueness that easily reinforces those romanticized notions. As this field of study enters its fifth decade, voices across this discipline are calling for recognition of Appalachia’s politically, economically and ethnically diverse histories, advocating for the field to continue to develop an interdisciplinary identity. Our question is whether “Appalachia” is a term under which these histories can truly be recognized, or whether the term itself can only inherently peripheralize and obscure these realities. To explore this question a roundtable hosted by ETSU Appalachian Studies graduate students will briefly present 8 themes or topics that have been historically characterized as unique to Appalachia. Participants will then discuss how these themes characterize the region, obscure its history, and/or can be applied to other national or global experiences. In the introduction to the collection Studying Appalachian Studies (2015), Chad Berry, Phillip Obermiller and Shaunna Scott state, “It is not useful to think of the Appalachian region as exceptional and distinctive but, rather, to scrutinize its similarity and connection to other places…charting a middle course between an overgeneralized universalism and an exclusionary individualism…is clearly no easy task.” This conversation will help explore the challenges and strengths of charting that middle course, and raise questions about the many paths the field can take at its next stage of evolution.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
A panel composed of Appalachian studies graduate students from East Tennessee State University.
Appalachian Studies Anachronisms: A Roundtable Discussion
Since its inception in the 1970s, Appalachian Studies scholars and activists have worked to mediate, and at times rebuke, the region’s romanticized and stereotyped characterizations. And yet the very concept of a field of Appalachian studies inherently argues for an exclusivity and uniqueness that easily reinforces those romanticized notions. As this field of study enters its fifth decade, voices across this discipline are calling for recognition of Appalachia’s politically, economically and ethnically diverse histories, advocating for the field to continue to develop an interdisciplinary identity. Our question is whether “Appalachia” is a term under which these histories can truly be recognized, or whether the term itself can only inherently peripheralize and obscure these realities. To explore this question a roundtable hosted by ETSU Appalachian Studies graduate students will briefly present 8 themes or topics that have been historically characterized as unique to Appalachia. Participants will then discuss how these themes characterize the region, obscure its history, and/or can be applied to other national or global experiences. In the introduction to the collection Studying Appalachian Studies (2015), Chad Berry, Phillip Obermiller and Shaunna Scott state, “It is not useful to think of the Appalachian region as exceptional and distinctive but, rather, to scrutinize its similarity and connection to other places…charting a middle course between an overgeneralized universalism and an exclusionary individualism…is clearly no easy task.” This conversation will help explore the challenges and strengths of charting that middle course, and raise questions about the many paths the field can take at its next stage of evolution.
