Participation Type
Paper
Session Abstract or Summary
In this paper I examine the practical resonance of the phrase “mountain tough” as low-income people in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, recover from the effects of the 2016 Sevier County Wildfires. “Mountain tough” was first uttered by city officials during a press conference in the fire’s immediate aftermath. Later, it appeared on marquees for local businesses, t-shirts, and within the name of a charity foundation for fire victims. Drawing from ethnographic accounts from low-income, frontline service workers in Gatlinburg’s tourism industry, I consider how the use of “mountain tough” intersects with touristic encounters. Opening with an account from Dec. 12, 2016—a few days after Gatlinburg re-opened for business—I describe the variety of ways in which the emotional labor of these workers is circumscribed by the urge to be “mountain tough.” With scores of workers losing their homes and/or experiencing the death of a close acquaintance, their emotional labor and ability to maintain a “mountain tough” attitude was framed by their recent trauma. In my analysis of “mountain tough,” I connect this phrase to essentializing accounts of Appalachia within scholarly and literary traditions that reduce diverse regional experiences to lists of positive and negative “cultural traits.” I conclude by engaging with a larger conversation—ongoing within Appalachian Studies and cultural anthropology—about the “uses and misuses” of the culture concept, specifically “Appalachian Culture.”
Presentation #1 Title
Maintaining “Mountain Tough”: Thoughts about “Culture,” Appalachian and Capitalist
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In this paper I examine the practical resonance of the phrase “mountain tough” as low-income people in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, recover from the effects of the 2016 Sevier County Wildfires. “Mountain tough” was first uttered by city officials during a press conference in the fire’s immediate aftermath. Later, it appeared on marquees for local businesses, t-shirts, and within the name of a charity foundation for fire victims. Drawing from ethnographic accounts from low-income, frontline service workers in Gatlinburg’s tourism industry, I consider how the use of “mountain tough” intersects with touristic encounters. Opening with an account from Dec. 12, 2016—a few days after Gatlinburg re-opened for business—I describe the variety of ways in which the emotional labor of these workers is circumscribed by the urge to be “mountain tough.” With scores of workers losing their homes and/or experiencing the death of a close acquaintance, their emotional labor and ability to maintain a “mountain tough” attitude was framed by their recent trauma. In my analysis of “mountain tough,” I connect this phrase to essentializing accounts of Appalachia within scholarly and literary traditions that reduce diverse regional experiences to lists of positive and negative “cultural traits.” I conclude by engaging with a larger conversation—ongoing within Appalachian Studies and cultural anthropology—about the “uses and misuses” of the culture concept, specifically “Appalachian Culture.”
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
I am a cultural anthropologist and my field site is in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. My research interests are the U.S. South, Appalachia, tourism, the politics of representation, urban anthropology, critical race studies, political economy, and symbolic/interpretive approaches to anthropology. I teach courses in material culture, the history of anthropological thought, tourism and anthropology, economic anthropology, globalization, and museum studies.
Maintaining “Mountain Tough”: Thoughts about “Culture,” Appalachian and Capitalist
In this paper I examine the practical resonance of the phrase “mountain tough” as low-income people in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, recover from the effects of the 2016 Sevier County Wildfires. “Mountain tough” was first uttered by city officials during a press conference in the fire’s immediate aftermath. Later, it appeared on marquees for local businesses, t-shirts, and within the name of a charity foundation for fire victims. Drawing from ethnographic accounts from low-income, frontline service workers in Gatlinburg’s tourism industry, I consider how the use of “mountain tough” intersects with touristic encounters. Opening with an account from Dec. 12, 2016—a few days after Gatlinburg re-opened for business—I describe the variety of ways in which the emotional labor of these workers is circumscribed by the urge to be “mountain tough.” With scores of workers losing their homes and/or experiencing the death of a close acquaintance, their emotional labor and ability to maintain a “mountain tough” attitude was framed by their recent trauma. In my analysis of “mountain tough,” I connect this phrase to essentializing accounts of Appalachia within scholarly and literary traditions that reduce diverse regional experiences to lists of positive and negative “cultural traits.” I conclude by engaging with a larger conversation—ongoing within Appalachian Studies and cultural anthropology—about the “uses and misuses” of the culture concept, specifically “Appalachian Culture.”
