Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Household Goods, Hegemony, and Social Justice at Kentucky Company Coal Mining Towns
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Hegemonic power structures in the Appalachian mountains solidified during the Industrial Age and shape the region’s representation and economic strategies today. Appalachia is a land of backward hillbillies in the public consciousness, who have alternately been uplifted and oppressed by extractive industries, notably coal. Popular perceptions privilege the coal industry’s ‘power over’ Appalachian people without confronting the dynamic interplay of many power structures. This paper examines household goods recovered archaeologically from two eastern Kentucky company coal towns as a means of illuminating the mutual constitution of many power structures, specifically corporate paternalism, race, gender, and class. It argues that 1.) simply doing archaeology in Appalachia has emancipatory potential, as the region has not been well served by historical disciplines in the past, and 2.) archaeological interpretations enfranchise the region. Examples from Jenkins and McRoberts, Kentucky demonstrate that archaeology offers a unique way to challenge hegemonic power structures by exposing their historical genesis, challenge stereotypical representations of Appalachia, and invoke old economic strategies, acknowledging the diversity and emancipatory potential already within the region. Company coal mining towns, popularly considered the ultimate manifestation of capitalist oppression, were rich grounds of both organized and everyday activism, which can be reclaimed for empowerment today.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Zada Komara is an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Centre College and a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Kentucky. Her research involves historical archaeology and oral history at Appalachian company coal mining towns.
Household Goods, Hegemony, and Social Justice at Kentucky Company Coal Mining Towns
Hegemonic power structures in the Appalachian mountains solidified during the Industrial Age and shape the region’s representation and economic strategies today. Appalachia is a land of backward hillbillies in the public consciousness, who have alternately been uplifted and oppressed by extractive industries, notably coal. Popular perceptions privilege the coal industry’s ‘power over’ Appalachian people without confronting the dynamic interplay of many power structures. This paper examines household goods recovered archaeologically from two eastern Kentucky company coal towns as a means of illuminating the mutual constitution of many power structures, specifically corporate paternalism, race, gender, and class. It argues that 1.) simply doing archaeology in Appalachia has emancipatory potential, as the region has not been well served by historical disciplines in the past, and 2.) archaeological interpretations enfranchise the region. Examples from Jenkins and McRoberts, Kentucky demonstrate that archaeology offers a unique way to challenge hegemonic power structures by exposing their historical genesis, challenge stereotypical representations of Appalachia, and invoke old economic strategies, acknowledging the diversity and emancipatory potential already within the region. Company coal mining towns, popularly considered the ultimate manifestation of capitalist oppression, were rich grounds of both organized and everyday activism, which can be reclaimed for empowerment today.
