Participation Type
Performance
Presentation #1 Title
Appalachian Females in Food – Sharing Women’s Food Stories Past to Present
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This short film will share stories of women who have participated in the entire range of the food production system in Appalachia. From farmers to food activists, and restaurant owners to cooks, women have been important contributors to Appalachian foodways from the 1700s to present day, even though their stories have often gone unrecognized in the historical canon. These stories want to be told. Using archival records, historical photographs and documents, and newly conducted oral histories, the video will honor these women’s narratives and hopes their stories serve to inform, entertain, educate, and inspire others interested in food studies of the Appalachian region and Southern food culture. Whether telling the story of how Native Americans influenced Appalachian foodways historically or investigating the transnational links between Scottish peoples and early settlers, we will explore the earliest roots of a food story that is quintessentially American and iconically Southern. Interviewing present day females in food, we endeavor to discover what has influenced these modern-day women and what they are doing to celebrate Appalachia and its food history. The goal of this project is to promote dialogue amongst a diverse and inclusive membership within the ASA and to educate and inform ASA membership about work being conducted by entrepreneurial women in the Appalachian food industry. By sharing these stories, we hope to add to the conversation taking place across the region’s diverse populations.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Suzie McWhirter is a graduate student in American Studies at Kennesaw State University. She served as a graduate research editorial assistant for the Agricultural History Journal for two years, is a member of the American Studies Student Organization at KSU and recently completed a week-long oral history workshop at the Southern Foodways Alliance in Oxford, MS. Her current research project explores the influence of Native Americans, the Scottish, and other groups in the history of Appalachian foodways - and uses the story of food as a lens to examine the construction of race, class, and gender identities in Appalachia from the 1700s to present day.
Appalachian Females in Food – Sharing Women’s Food Stories Past to Present
This short film will share stories of women who have participated in the entire range of the food production system in Appalachia. From farmers to food activists, and restaurant owners to cooks, women have been important contributors to Appalachian foodways from the 1700s to present day, even though their stories have often gone unrecognized in the historical canon. These stories want to be told. Using archival records, historical photographs and documents, and newly conducted oral histories, the video will honor these women’s narratives and hopes their stories serve to inform, entertain, educate, and inspire others interested in food studies of the Appalachian region and Southern food culture. Whether telling the story of how Native Americans influenced Appalachian foodways historically or investigating the transnational links between Scottish peoples and early settlers, we will explore the earliest roots of a food story that is quintessentially American and iconically Southern. Interviewing present day females in food, we endeavor to discover what has influenced these modern-day women and what they are doing to celebrate Appalachia and its food history. The goal of this project is to promote dialogue amongst a diverse and inclusive membership within the ASA and to educate and inform ASA membership about work being conducted by entrepreneurial women in the Appalachian food industry. By sharing these stories, we hope to add to the conversation taking place across the region’s diverse populations.
