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| Center for the Study of Appalachia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Center for the Study of Appalachia |
| Established | 1970s |
| Type | Research center |
| Location | Appalachian region, United States |
| Parent institution | University-based |
Center for the Study of Appalachia is an academic research center focused on the culture, history, and contemporary issues of the Appalachian region. The center engages scholars, artists, and community leaders through interdisciplinary initiatives that connect to institutions such as University of Kentucky, West Virginia University, Marshall University, Virginia Tech, and Ohio University. It collaborates with regional organizations including Appalachian Regional Commission, Southeast Appalachian Studies Association, Appalachian Studies Association, Kentucky Humanities Council, and Smithsonian Institution affiliates.
The center traces origins to scholarly and activist movements linked to institutions like Appalachian State University, Berea College, East Tennessee State University, Duke University, and Vanderbilt University in the late 20th century, alongside federal initiatives such as the War on Poverty, Economic Opportunity Act, Great Society, and regional responses exemplified by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Early leadership drew on scholars associated with Howard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and Yale University and engaged with cultural figures from Hazel Dickens to Jean Ritchie and Earl Scruggs. The center’s archival and programmatic growth paralleled projects funded by foundations like the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and National Endowment for the Arts.
The center’s mission aligns scholarly inquiry with community priorities, connecting studies of Appalachian life to institutions such as Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Coal Heritage Area, and United Mine Workers of America. Objectives include documenting cultural heritage through partnerships with museums like Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, preserving oral histories comparable to collections at Smithsonian Folkways Records and Folklife Festival, and informing policy dialogues involving U.S. Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior, and advocacy groups such as Coal River Mountain Watch and Mountain Justice. The center supports work that intersects with legal and political milestones like the Tennessee Valley Authority projects and labor actions tied to the Battle of Blair Mountain and Matewan Massacre memory.
Programmatic efforts often include oral history initiatives modeled after projects at Vanderbilt Television News Archive, folklore fieldwork similar to Vera Hall studies, archival digitization efforts akin to Digital Public Library of America, and community arts collaborations with organizations like Appalshop, Pine Mountain Settlement School, Outline, and Kentucky Center for the Arts. Projects have examined extractive industries connected to Coal mining in Appalachia, environmental campaigns relating to Surface mining control and reclamation, health studies referencing institutions such as CDC and Johns Hopkins University, and economic development work in concert with Economic Development Administration and Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. Residency programs have hosted artists linked to Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, and scholars connected to Howard Zinn-style public history.
The center publishes monographs, edited volumes, and journals that reflect scholarship similar to work appearing in Journal of Appalachian Studies, Southern Cultures, American Quarterly, Ethnomusicology', and Victorian Studies when interdisciplinary. Contributors include historians with affiliations to University of Virginia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University Press, Oxford University Press, and University Press of Kentucky; folklorists tied to Indiana University Press and University of Illinois Press; and policy analysts connected to Brookings Institution, Economic Policy Institute, and Russell Sage Foundation. Topics have ranged from musicology studies on bluegrass music and artists like Bill Monroe to labor history analyses referencing United Mine Workers of America and environmental histories addressing Appalachian coalfield transformations.
Educational programs include graduate fellowships and undergraduate internships modeled after fellowships at Radcliffe Institute, summer institutes akin to Folger Shakespeare Library seminars, K–12 curricula partnerships with National Council for the Social Studies, and public lecture series comparable to events at Smithsonian Institution. Outreach engages community media such as WMMT, WEKU, Appalachian Legacy Project, and public history programming with local historical societies, county museums, and festivals related to Telluride Bluegrass Festival-style gatherings and the Floyd County Moonshine Festival. Workshops address public health concerns drawing on expertise from University of Kentucky Medical Center, West Virginia University School of Medicine, and nonprofit partners like Appalachian Transitional Living Center.
The center curates archival holdings of manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, and ephemera comparable to collections at Library of Congress, Southern Historical Collection, Berea College Special Collections, and Kentucky Historical Society. Holdings include oral histories paralleling efforts by Work Projects Administration-era folklore collectors, field recordings evocative of Alan Lomax archives, labor documents related to United Mine Workers of America negotiations, mining company records resembling those of Pittston Coal Company, and material culture items similar to holdings at Museum of Appalachia. Digitization initiatives coordinate with repositories such as HathiTrust, Digital Public Library of America, and regional consortia including OCLC members.
The center partners with universities such as University of Kentucky, West Virginia University, Appalachian State University, Berea College, and Ohio University; with cultural organizations like Appalshop, Smithsonian Institution, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and Appalachian Regional Commission; and with advocacy groups including Environmental Defense Fund and Sierra Club regional chapters. Funding sources have included federal agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities, private foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, state humanities councils, alumni donors, and competitive grants from institutions like National Science Foundation and Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Category:Appalachian studies