Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Connecting the Commonwealth: Kentucky Educational Television’s Programming Inside and Out of the Classroom
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This paper explores the programs produced historically by a state-level public television network, Kentucky Educational Television (KET), and the effects of those programs on the disadvantaged, mountainous communities of eastern Kentucky. Programs this paper examines specifically include KET's General Education Development (GED) initiative, which was eventually incorporated into the Appalachian Regional Commission's educational reform program, as well as the documentary programs KET produced to depict Appalachia and its hardship. An analysis mainly of rhetorical strategies, the paper will look at primary sources from station producers expounding the need for alternative education programs, as well as the documentaries themselves as political statements of representing Appalachia. The paper intends to highlight public television as a historical mouthpiece for the liberal reform agenda of the mid twentieth century, but it also seeks to analyze how well the state's public television service benefits rural communities like Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
My name is Carson Benn. I am a PhD candidate in history at the University of Kentucky, studying under Kathy Newfont. I research the history of public television and education in Appalachia, and I hope to complete my degree in 2020.
Connecting the Commonwealth: Kentucky Educational Television’s Programming Inside and Out of the Classroom
This paper explores the programs produced historically by a state-level public television network, Kentucky Educational Television (KET), and the effects of those programs on the disadvantaged, mountainous communities of eastern Kentucky. Programs this paper examines specifically include KET's General Education Development (GED) initiative, which was eventually incorporated into the Appalachian Regional Commission's educational reform program, as well as the documentary programs KET produced to depict Appalachia and its hardship. An analysis mainly of rhetorical strategies, the paper will look at primary sources from station producers expounding the need for alternative education programs, as well as the documentaries themselves as political statements of representing Appalachia. The paper intends to highlight public television as a historical mouthpiece for the liberal reform agenda of the mid twentieth century, but it also seeks to analyze how well the state's public television service benefits rural communities like Appalachia.
