Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Tragic Optimism and Universal Values: Reframing the Narrative of Poverty in Central West Virginia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The purpose of this investigation is to see how the effects of economic inequality, stereotypes, and unemployment affect the well-being of the middle class in central West Virginia. Questions include why living in a place with high poverty rates, regardless of income, negatively affects a person’s attitude and well-being, and why are middle class people who live in these places are often victims of “guilt-by-association” for living in a lower income county? Also, why are rural West Virginians stereotyped as being poor and uneducated? The results of this study may help organizations like the ARC include data on well-being and life satisfaction alongside their economic reports. Moreover, the public may begin to view West Virginia differently, fueling tourism and leading to better prospects for central West Virginians. Relevant scholarship for this project includes: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Agee), Glass House (Alexander), The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Weber), Women, Power, and Dissent in the Hills of Carolina (Anglin), Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl), and “Meaning Therapy” (Wong). I am conducting phenomenological interviews of twelve people in six distressed counties and also administering the Life Attitudes Scale to determine their level of well-being. I will then use an ethnomethodological approach to analyze the daily lived experiences of West Virginians and how they confront the forces of Othering and dehumanization imposed on them by both cultural outsiders and regional organizations. I have not started this project yet, but some interviews and data will be collected before the conference.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Julian Miller is a second year student in the M.A.L.S. program at ETSU. He is originally from York, Pennsylvania and graduated from Duquesne University with a B.A. in Philosophy. He is hoping to complete his M.A.L.S. degree this year and enter a PhD program in Sociology. Mr. Miller’s extended family is from central Appalachia, and he has always felt at home in this region. He enjoys playing guitar, viola, and mandolin in his spare time.
Tragic Optimism and Universal Values: Reframing the Narrative of Poverty in Central West Virginia
The purpose of this investigation is to see how the effects of economic inequality, stereotypes, and unemployment affect the well-being of the middle class in central West Virginia. Questions include why living in a place with high poverty rates, regardless of income, negatively affects a person’s attitude and well-being, and why are middle class people who live in these places are often victims of “guilt-by-association” for living in a lower income county? Also, why are rural West Virginians stereotyped as being poor and uneducated? The results of this study may help organizations like the ARC include data on well-being and life satisfaction alongside their economic reports. Moreover, the public may begin to view West Virginia differently, fueling tourism and leading to better prospects for central West Virginians. Relevant scholarship for this project includes: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Agee), Glass House (Alexander), The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Weber), Women, Power, and Dissent in the Hills of Carolina (Anglin), Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl), and “Meaning Therapy” (Wong). I am conducting phenomenological interviews of twelve people in six distressed counties and also administering the Life Attitudes Scale to determine their level of well-being. I will then use an ethnomethodological approach to analyze the daily lived experiences of West Virginians and how they confront the forces of Othering and dehumanization imposed on them by both cultural outsiders and regional organizations. I have not started this project yet, but some interviews and data will be collected before the conference.
