Participation Type
Roundtable
Session Title
Researching, Returning, and Resituating: Navigating the Borders Between Home and the Academy
Session Abstract or Summary
The Appalachian community at Ohio State University has a small but burgeoning presence on our urban campus in Columbus, Ohio. Across the university, scholars are involved with research projects about the people, politics, and culture of the region. Students are finding support and solidarity in newly formed groups that serve and assist first-year undergraduates from Appalachian regions in overcoming commonly experienced barriers in adjusting to college life. The university is formally recognizing the important role of Appalachian scholars and scholarship on our campus. At all levels, students and researchers who are from the region return to their communities throughout the year for visits, fieldwork, and cultural events. The movements of people between Columbus and Appalachian communities afford enlightening perspectives for Appalachian studies, yet also point to existing complexities for those who traverse these geographic spaces and their corresponding social contexts. Whether it is to conduct research or simply to return home, students and scholars navigate not only borders—literal or perceived—between regions, but also between their own multiple social positions. This roundtable poses the question: What does it mean, both individually and institutionally, to cross regional and social borders and orient toward a space and culture in which we are not necessarily physically immersed? What opportunities do our multiple footings afford in terms of facilitating dialogue between our home and academic communities? We hope to foster productive and open conversation about establishing networks of relationships with other institutions and organizations in our state and with the wider Appalachian Studies community.
Presentation #1 Title
Researching, Returning, and Resituating: Navigating the Borders Between Home and the Academy
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The Appalachian community at Ohio State University has a small but burgeoning presence on our urban campus in Columbus, Ohio. Across the university, scholars are involved with research projects about the people, politics, and culture of the region. Students are finding support and solidarity in newly formed groups that serve and assist first-year undergraduates from Appalachian regions in overcoming commonly experienced barriers in adjusting to college life. The university is formally recognizing the important role of Appalachian scholars and scholarship on our campus. At all levels, students and researchers who are from the region return to their communities throughout the year for visits, fieldwork, and cultural events. The movements of people between Columbus and Appalachian communities afford enlightening perspectives for Appalachian studies, yet also point to existing complexities for those who traverse these geographic spaces and their corresponding social contexts. Whether it is to conduct research or simply to return home, students and scholars navigate not only borders—literal or perceived—between regions, but also between their own multiple social positions. This roundtable poses the question: What does it mean, both individually and institutionally, to cross regional and social borders and orient toward a space and culture in which we are not necessarily physically immersed? What opportunities do our multiple footings afford in terms of facilitating dialogue between our home and academic communities? We hope to foster productive and open conversation about establishing networks of relationships with other institutions and organizations in our state and with the wider Appalachian Studies community.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Sarah Craycraft is a graduate student in Comparative Studies and Folklore at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She is interested in creative responses to changing environments by Appalachian and Bulgarian youth. Her current work also considers commemorative landscapes and material culture as dynamic components that shape and interact with how people narrate places and discuss home.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Sydney Varajon holds an MA in Folk Studies from Western Kentucky University, and is currently a PhD student in Folklore and English at the Ohio State University. She has worked on various oral history and cultural resource documentation projects in southern Appalachian regions of Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as in newcomer communities in Columbus, Ohio. Her current research explores the intersections of material culture, place studies, narrative, and cultural policy.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Jordan Lovejoy is a graduate student in English and Folklore at The Ohio State University. She is most interested in Appalachian environmental narratives and response, women’s work and storytelling, material culture, and how to build better relationships between community members and service workers. She currently works as a graduate student archivist in OSU’s Center for Folklore Studies.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Sophia Enriquez is from Batavia, Ohio and is pursuing a doctoral degree in Musicology at The Ohio State University. Sophia graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education from West Virginia University where she performed with the WVU Bluegrass Ensemble as a vocalist. Currently, her research and interests include regional identity, women and gender in Appalachia, Bluegrass, and music of the American folk tradition.
Conference Subthemes
Education, Migration
Researching, Returning, and Resituating: Navigating the Borders Between Home and the Academy
The Appalachian community at Ohio State University has a small but burgeoning presence on our urban campus in Columbus, Ohio. Across the university, scholars are involved with research projects about the people, politics, and culture of the region. Students are finding support and solidarity in newly formed groups that serve and assist first-year undergraduates from Appalachian regions in overcoming commonly experienced barriers in adjusting to college life. The university is formally recognizing the important role of Appalachian scholars and scholarship on our campus. At all levels, students and researchers who are from the region return to their communities throughout the year for visits, fieldwork, and cultural events. The movements of people between Columbus and Appalachian communities afford enlightening perspectives for Appalachian studies, yet also point to existing complexities for those who traverse these geographic spaces and their corresponding social contexts. Whether it is to conduct research or simply to return home, students and scholars navigate not only borders—literal or perceived—between regions, but also between their own multiple social positions. This roundtable poses the question: What does it mean, both individually and institutionally, to cross regional and social borders and orient toward a space and culture in which we are not necessarily physically immersed? What opportunities do our multiple footings afford in terms of facilitating dialogue between our home and academic communities? We hope to foster productive and open conversation about establishing networks of relationships with other institutions and organizations in our state and with the wider Appalachian Studies community.
