Appalachian Studies Commons^™

Appalachian Futures Introduction, West Virginia University Libraries, West Virginia University Humanities Center, West Virginia University Reed College Of Media, West Virginia Library Commission, Appalachian State University Libraries, Marshall University Libraries, Arts Monongahela

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Appalachian Futures is a look at how people in our region envision a better future for themselves, their communities, and their environment. By thinking about the issues that occupy discussions of Appalachian identity through the eyes of its scholars, writers, workers, and artists, Appalachian Futures wants you to think, “How can optimism about the diversity of our region, our industry and education, our traditional culture, and our most forward-looking arts help us make for better lives?”

Future Of Appalachian Culture, Emily Hilliard, Travis Stimeling, Michael Kline, Carrie Kline, Trevor Mckenzie, Nancy Abrams, Torey Siebart, Chris Haddox, Mehmet Oztan, West Virginia University Press

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Appalachia is often associated with its traditional arts and culture, but that does not mean that we are stuck in the past. Local traditions often play a crucial role in galvanizing forward-thinking cultural institutions, involving artists and workers alike in making new futures that are still distinctively Appalachian. This section of the exhibit highlights this kind of work from the West Virginia Humanities Council, Arthurdale Heritage, and more, connecting to a traditional past to new traditions yet to be forged.

The Question, Sharon Ryan

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The Question is a project designed to inspire inquiry and respectful discussion about big ideas. WVU Libraries collaborates with The Question to bring relevant interactive elements to the Art in the Libraries exhibits.

thequestion.wvu.edu

Speculative Futures And Futurism In Appalachia, Liz Pavlovic, Jamie Banks, Nicholas D. Bowman, David Smith, Baaria Chaudhary, Ben Babbitt, Jake Elliott, Tamas Kemenczy, Daniel Boyd, West Virginia University Press

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What if we thought of Appalachia as futuristic? Could the mountains be the setting for imagining better, maybe weirder, futures? Artists, writers, and game designers have been asking just those questions, speculating through science fiction, fantasy, and magic realism to rethink the ways cultural traditions in wildly creative ways. From folktales to videogames, cryptozoology to underground highways, this section asks what a future Appalachian utopia (or dystopia) might look and feel like?