Abstract
Brought forth by common rhetoric, Appalachia is often viewed as the closest space to that of an empyrean domain. Separated from the sleepless city, its allure rests in its created identity of a quiet, green escape from the city, which offers serenity on all fronts. Although Appalachia can fulfill this profile, such an ascension ignores the burning yellow grass below. The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of the destruction of Appalachia through the lens of extractive industries and the region’s designation as a sacrifice zone. Through the application of rural critical criminology, this paper holds that the region has been granted an identity similar to that of a waste repository, in which the “drunken hillbillies,” or otherized citizens, are their own worst enemy. Due to this, it has allowed for the pervasive rooting of three prominent extractive industries, with those being the coal, carceral, and natural gas pipeline industries, all of which has profound effects on the Appalachian land, identity, and body. Following the overview, a multidimensional reform through the planes of enlightenment, labor resistance movements, and environmental regulations is discussed to help remove the grip of extractive industries on the land, and lead Appalachia back to an era of autonomy.
Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Andrew
(2025)
"Absolute Extraction: Utilizing Rural Critical Criminology to Examine Appalachia’s Toxic Dependence on Extractive Industries,"
The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice: Vol. 24, Article 5.
Available at:
https://mds.marshall.edu/msjcj/vol24/iss1/5