Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
“Gone but not forgotten”: Creativity and Stewardship in Cemeteries of the Tennessee Overhill
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Stemming from a fieldwork project on burial practice and gravestone aesthetics in East Tennessee, this paper considers the challenges of cultural conservation in an area with a history of displacement—from the Trail of Tears to the Tennessee Valley Authority relocations. This paper will look at cemetery patterns and practices—as tangible and intangible culture—from the early nineteenth century to the present to get at questions of stewardship and erasure. Drawing from cultural conservation work by those such as Michael Ann Williams and Benita Howell and from Alan Jabbour’s work on Decoration Day, this paper will focus on the links between natural and cultural resources. This paper will consider questions related to access and selective preservation, and will explore the relationship between cultural and environmental sustainability efforts. Specifically, this paper will address these topics as they manifest in the Overhill region, which is comprised of three counties in southeast Tennessee. Informed by interviews, field survey, and archival research, this paper will discuss the relationship between natural and cultural resources and between geography and creativity. By looking at gravesite decoration practices, this paper will explore the relationships between aesthetics and ecology, people and environment.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Sydney Varajon is a folklorist and first-year PhD student at the Ohio State University. She has worked on various cultural resource projects, including a tri-county cemetery survey (southeast Tennessee), architectural surveys (Kentucky), and a successful multiple property nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Most recently, she conducted an oral history project about the musical landscape of south central Kentucky.
“Gone but not forgotten”: Creativity and Stewardship in Cemeteries of the Tennessee Overhill
Stemming from a fieldwork project on burial practice and gravestone aesthetics in East Tennessee, this paper considers the challenges of cultural conservation in an area with a history of displacement—from the Trail of Tears to the Tennessee Valley Authority relocations. This paper will look at cemetery patterns and practices—as tangible and intangible culture—from the early nineteenth century to the present to get at questions of stewardship and erasure. Drawing from cultural conservation work by those such as Michael Ann Williams and Benita Howell and from Alan Jabbour’s work on Decoration Day, this paper will focus on the links between natural and cultural resources. This paper will consider questions related to access and selective preservation, and will explore the relationship between cultural and environmental sustainability efforts. Specifically, this paper will address these topics as they manifest in the Overhill region, which is comprised of three counties in southeast Tennessee. Informed by interviews, field survey, and archival research, this paper will discuss the relationship between natural and cultural resources and between geography and creativity. By looking at gravesite decoration practices, this paper will explore the relationships between aesthetics and ecology, people and environment.
