Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Managing the Appalachian Difference: An Ethnographic Study of Appalachian Students at Carnegie Mellon University
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Many scholars have examined how Appalachian students negotiate various forms of difference in the university, including dialect (Dunstan, Brett and Jaeger), cultural values (Webb-Sunderhaus), and lack of preparation (Hand and Miller Payne) (also see Donehower, Hogg, and Schell; Kruse; and Kelleher Sohn). The majority of these studies foreground the experiences of rural students from low-income backgrounds who attend college within the Appalachian region. Alternatively, this presentation focuses on an understudied group: students who have left the cultural region of Appalachia and are succeeding in a highly selective and intercultural university. Drawing on data I have collected through my ethnographic research with Appalachian students at Carnegie Mellon University, I question how students negotiate Appalachian identity, particularly in their academic writing. These students are from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and none are recognizable as Appalachian; yet they still face stereotypes and experience feelings of otherness. My analysis of student interviews and writing samples shows how these students engage in strategic self-reflection by critiquing cultural stereotypes, recognizing their home experiences as unique forms of knowledge, and weighing the risks and benefits of identifying with a stigmatized region. This form of reflection leads students to strategically incorporate aspects of their backgrounds into their writing to both appeal to the values of specialized discourses and honor connections to home. These high-achieving students show how students who do not fit the Appalachian stereotype can still be marginalized in the university and illustrate strategies for responding to this marginalization. Works Cited Donehower, Kim, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell, eds. Rural Literacies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2007. Print. Dunstan, Stephany Brett and Audrey J. Jaeger. “Dialect and Influences on the Academic Experiences of College Students.” The Journal of Higher Education 86.5 (2015): 777-803. Web. 8 Feb. 2015. Hand, Christie and Emily Miller Payne. “First-Generation College Students: A Study of Appalachian Student Success.” Journal of Developmental Education 32.1 (2008): 4-15. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. Kruse, Martha. “From Village to College: Writing the Rural Experience.” Diss. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1995. Sohn, Katherine Kelleher. Whistlin’ and Crowin’ Women of Appalachia: Literacy Practices Since College. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2006. Print. Webb-Sunderhaus, Sara. “Living with Literacy’s Contradictions: Appalachian Students in a First-Year Writing Course.” Reclaiming the Rural: Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy. Eds. Donehower, Kim, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2012. 207-222. Print.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Amanda Berardi Tennant is a Ph.D. Candidate in Rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University, originally from Fairmont, West Virginia. Her research focuses on the rhetorical practices of marginalized groups, particularly Appalachian and working-class writers. She teaches first-year writing and professional communication and is currently serving as the Assistant Director of Second Language Writing at Carnegie Mellon.
Managing the Appalachian Difference: An Ethnographic Study of Appalachian Students at Carnegie Mellon University
Many scholars have examined how Appalachian students negotiate various forms of difference in the university, including dialect (Dunstan, Brett and Jaeger), cultural values (Webb-Sunderhaus), and lack of preparation (Hand and Miller Payne) (also see Donehower, Hogg, and Schell; Kruse; and Kelleher Sohn). The majority of these studies foreground the experiences of rural students from low-income backgrounds who attend college within the Appalachian region. Alternatively, this presentation focuses on an understudied group: students who have left the cultural region of Appalachia and are succeeding in a highly selective and intercultural university. Drawing on data I have collected through my ethnographic research with Appalachian students at Carnegie Mellon University, I question how students negotiate Appalachian identity, particularly in their academic writing. These students are from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and none are recognizable as Appalachian; yet they still face stereotypes and experience feelings of otherness. My analysis of student interviews and writing samples shows how these students engage in strategic self-reflection by critiquing cultural stereotypes, recognizing their home experiences as unique forms of knowledge, and weighing the risks and benefits of identifying with a stigmatized region. This form of reflection leads students to strategically incorporate aspects of their backgrounds into their writing to both appeal to the values of specialized discourses and honor connections to home. These high-achieving students show how students who do not fit the Appalachian stereotype can still be marginalized in the university and illustrate strategies for responding to this marginalization. Works Cited Donehower, Kim, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell, eds. Rural Literacies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2007. Print. Dunstan, Stephany Brett and Audrey J. Jaeger. “Dialect and Influences on the Academic Experiences of College Students.” The Journal of Higher Education 86.5 (2015): 777-803. Web. 8 Feb. 2015. Hand, Christie and Emily Miller Payne. “First-Generation College Students: A Study of Appalachian Student Success.” Journal of Developmental Education 32.1 (2008): 4-15. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. Kruse, Martha. “From Village to College: Writing the Rural Experience.” Diss. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1995. Sohn, Katherine Kelleher. Whistlin’ and Crowin’ Women of Appalachia: Literacy Practices Since College. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2006. Print. Webb-Sunderhaus, Sara. “Living with Literacy’s Contradictions: Appalachian Students in a First-Year Writing Course.” Reclaiming the Rural: Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy. Eds. Donehower, Kim, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2012. 207-222. Print.
