Appalachian Studies Commons^™

“The Contributing Cultures Of Ancient Peoples At The Muscle Shoals”, William Lindsey Mcdonald

Writings

An article that addresses the ancient history of Muscle Shoals, Alabama with particular attention to the early cultures of influence, including indigenous tribes, such as the Cherokee and Chickasaws, and eventual European settlers of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic descent.

Book Review: Land Of Everlasting Hills: George Masa, Jim Thompson, And The Photographs That Helped Save The Great Smoky Mountains And Blaze The Appalachian Trail, Linh Uong

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Nature Of Pain: Roots, Recovery, And Redemption Amid The Opioid Crisis, Justin J. Mueller

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Mountains And Mythology: Folklore In The Alps, Arya Karki

Honors Projects

From nature spirits to secret doorways, an air of mystery and magic surrounds the mountains of Austria. All over the world, mountain ranges inspire rich folklore, each set of tales unique to its respective culture. The purpose of this Honors Project is to answer the question: how does mountain-inspired folklore mirror cultural values and fears? A comparative analysis between Austrian Alpine and American Appalachian folktales is conducted in order to isolate the variables that cause folklore to differ region-to-region. Through research consisting of primary-source folklore anthologies, secondary texts on mountain theory, and direct observation from a study abroad experience, this …

Evaluating The Feasibility And Preliminary Effectiveness Of A Tailored Diabetes Education Program For Rural Residents, Brittany L. Smalls, Oluwatosin Leshi, Suraksha Khanal, Grejika E. Abram-Erby

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Diabetes is a top ten Rural Healthy People 2030 priority for health improvement among rural Americans. Socioeconomic, environmental, geographic and political barriers contribute to the type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence and its disparate impact in rural communities. However, promoting proper self-care behaviors via self-management education can help people with diabetes better manage their condition.

Purpose: To account for the social environmental factors that affect rural residents, a tailored diabetes education program was developed, and the program’s effectiveness in improving diabetes knowledge and T2D-related health outcomes was assessed.

Methods: Using data collected from Appalachian Kentucky residents enrolled in a six-week, …

Black Swans And Safety Nets: Food Aid, Dispersal, And Eugenics In Corbin Hollow, Glenn Davis Stone, Richard K. Robinson

Southern Anthropologist

No abstract provided.

Leadership And Creative Placemaking In Central Appalachia: Morehead, Kentucky, Toni C. Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations--Arts Administration

In rural Appalachia, longstanding patterns of extractive economic development, coupled with limited public investment and uneven institutional support, have contributed to persistent economic stagnation and a diminished sense of pride among residents. These conditions reflect deeper structural challenges, including economies shaped by resource extraction and external control. Addressing these conditions is critical to fostering economic growth, promoting cultural heritage, and enhancing overall well-being in the region. By cultivating resilient communities, leaders can create environments in which both the economy and local pride can thrive, contributing to a more prosperous and unified Appalachian region.

This study investigates the organizational and leadership …

Appalachia In Presidential Campaign Rhetoric Since 1964, Meredith Morello

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines how presidential candidates have invoked Appalachia in campaign rhetoric from Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 election through 2024, arguing the region functions not as a geographic reference but as a strategically deployable political symbol. Through mixed-methods analysis of 83 campaign-period sources archived in the American Presidency Project, a structured thematic coding schema traces how candidates frame the region across six decades using two analytically distinct modes: objective-economic and moralized-culture framing.

Five major structural patterns emerge: Johnson's institutionalization of the region as bounded domestic poverty; strategic silence during national instability; reframings enabling rhetorical reentry; symbolic portability across ideological projects; …

Community Resilience Drives Change, Andrew Thomas Solt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The opioid crisis has impacted many Americans. From 1999 to 2023, approximately 800,000 people have died due to opioid overdose (CDC, 2025). What began as overprescriptions of painkillers has quickly evolved into a complex social health issue that is now further worsened by stronger synthetic drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids that are very similar chemically to fentanyl) are often found in illegal drug supplies and in counterfeit pills (CDC, 2025). Thus, individuals who might have been initially overprescribed painkillers might now be pushed towards illegally produced drugs that are significantly more potent than what they were …

“Black Students Matter”: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Student Experiences At A Predominately White Institution In Appalachia During The Dual Pandemic Of Covid-19 And Systemic Anti-Black Racism, Toni Owens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the spread of COVID-19 escalated into a global pandemic in 2020, simultaneously, the nationwide media in the United States (U.S.) highlighted coverage of the country’s ongoing incidents of longstanding systemic anti-Black racism in America, another pandemic. In the Summer of 2020, a collective of Black students at West Virginia University (WVU) signed and publicly submitted a petition to the university’s leadership with a list of demands to address their needs as they were further exacerbated by the dual pandemic. This study is guided by the question, “What are the lived experiences of Black Students at West Virginia University during …

Mountain Communities During A Time Of War: A Case Study Of The Hutsul Region In The Carpathian Mountains Of Ukraine, Pavlo Rybaruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the ethno-ecological technologies employed by the Hutsul people within the highland agrarian economy of the Carpathian Mountains. Over centuries, the Hutsuls have developed ethno-ecological technologies that maintain ecological integrity while supporting community livelihoods.

The study addresses three primary research questions: What are the most important ethno-ecological technologies of the Hutsul highland economy? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be applied to economic, agricultural, and tourism development in the Hutsul region? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be combined with contemporary approaches to encourage sustainable development in the region?

The research explores the devastating impact of the Russian …

"Appalachian Pop Culture Fairs", Heather A. Lauer

Librarian Research

This presentation explores the development, impact, and challenges of pop culture conventions in West Virginia and the implications on the broader Appalachian region. Through in-depth interviews with organizers of eight regional conventions—including HerdCon, Tsubasacon, Causeacon, and the Mothman Festival— Lauer examined the motivations behind organizing such events, the cultural and logistical hurdles faced, and the personal and communal rewards experienced by those involved. By investigating how these events foster community, promote regional tourism, and provide inclusive spaces for fandoms, the presentation highlights the importance of pop culture in shaping identity and engagement in rural Appalachia. Special attention is given to …

Planetary Thinking: Hellbenders As Emissaries Of Appalachia, Tierra R. Curry

Critical Humanities

Hellbenders are prehistoric salamanders that have thrived in cold rivers since before the continents divided. Once found throughout Appalachian watersheds, due to exploitation and habitat degradation only a few dozen healthy populations survive. Monstrous yet fascinating, hellbenders were often reviled historically, but in recent decades they have gained iconic status and are now celebrated as charismatic indicators for clean rivers. Hellbenders are symbols of the wild because of their ancient history, elusive nature, and contribution to ecosystem resilience. The same forces that drove the decline of these amphibian sentinels have sacrificed public health in Appalachia. Their demise echoes the struggle …

Wulver In Appalachia, Wylan Blair

Persimmon Creek

A poem about a mysterious figure who comes to the aid of a mountain community.

Environmental Concern And Its Relationship To Community Attachment And Satisfaction In Southern West Virginia, Terence Asitibasi

All Theses

Extractive industries, especially coal, in the Appalachia region, have contributed to severe environmental challenges. Over the past years, residents in these areas faced increased health risks and damage to natural landscapes, impacting on how connected they are attached to their communities and overall satisfaction with their quality of life. Previous studies have examined these issues but with a focus on amenity-rich rural west, low amenities, urban-suburban, tourist-dependent and Great Lakes regions; this study looks at southern West Virginia, a coal-dependent region. And as such fills that gap by exploring how environmental concerns - combined with a longstanding reliance on coal …

Take Me Home? Understanding Refugee Resettlement Knowledge On The Wvu Campus, Kaitlin Stewart, Dylan Gay, David Olchowoj

CRC Research Symposium

Studies find that knowledge about refugee resettlement plays a significant role in the willingness of communities to accept refugees. Knowledge about refugees and refugee resettlement plays a significant role in other factors that shape refugee acceptance such as perceived ethnic threat. Perceived ethnic threat, or the belief that an ethnic group poses a threat economically, socially, or culturally to another, contributes significantly to a host community’s willingness to accept and care for refugees. This perceived threat escalates as federal governments use refugees and migrants as scapegoats for acts of violence and terror and blur the lines between refugees, asylum seekers, …

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (Act) For Appalachains: Cultural Additions To Act, Jessica E. King

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

This project examined the potential application of cultural additions to various aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This project is specifically focused on cultural adaptations of ACT for the Appalachian population. The ACT adaptations were devised based on a review of research on Appalachian culture, including the region’s geography, history of exploitation, cultural values, and clinical considerations for working with Appalachian populations. An overview of ACT and treatment effectiveness of ACT is included. It is important to note that this project is intended to be a supplement to ACT, and should be used in tandem with an ACT workbook …

Traveling Jack: Tracing Settler Identity Through Appalachian Folklore, Madelynn R. Green

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

Archaeology and Folklore have long had a tense relationship, but in an era of archaeology focusing more and more on the current and descendant communities it is imperative for archaeologists to begin engage folklore traditions in their work. By engaging archaeology and folkloric methods both fields can benefit. In the case of this study, I have used the "Traveling Jack" story, a common folk tale with English, Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian versions that involves a young man using his wits to overcome a series of challenges to achieve various happy endings, to trace Scottish and Irish settlement and reinvention in …

Workable Seams, Jackson Mills Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In Jackson Mills Smith’s Workable Seams, readers encounter the stories, landscapes, and lives of rural Knox County, Indiana, from the oscillating vantage of a Hoosier boy raised with a Cajun sensibility. After relocating from Louisiana to the river bottoms of the crossroad state at a young age, the speaker gradually uncovers a local history only previously understood in fragmentary shards and fading glimpses.

Alternating between semi-lyrical embodied experiences and memories, documentary pieces in conversation with the state’s historical archive, and the retelling of exaggerated local yarns, poetry is a means of inquiry in Workable Seams. Topics range from …

Rethinking Rural Identity: Reimagining Rural Politics, Matthew B. Kirk

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This work chiefly consists of a genealogical critique of rural identity. Tracing the development and deployment of the concepts of rurality and rural consciousness, I argue that our current depictions of rurality as “spatial other,” replete with its harmful stereotypes, stem from a misconception about the nature of power. Political theorists’ and political scientists’ appraisals of rurality suggest that the set of actions that define rural politics are a product of their relative powerlessness. Rural locales’ removal from the center of power in urban spheres means that rural politics is reduced to reactionary, violent, and conservative political thought and engagement. …

Informed Consent Document Delivery: Effects On Appalachian Caregivers' Comprehension, Trust In Researchers, And Willingness To Participate, Tess A. Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether altering an informed consent document (ICD), in ways that either promote or inhibit accessibility, would affect potential participants’ willingness to participate in a child development laboratory-based study. Specifically, I was interested in assessing the willingness to participate of historically underrepresented groups, especially Appalachian caregiver-child dyads. I altered three parameters of a previously approved and employed ICD to explore whether these parameters impacted Appalachian caregivers’ comprehension of the study, willingness to participate, and trust in the researchers. The manipulated parameters included reading level, utilization of illustrative pictures, and inclusion of text-to-speech …

Book Review: Appalachia On The Table: Representing Mountain Food And People, Jillian Speck

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Shake Ya Ass, But Watch Yourself: An Intersectional And Decolonial Approach To Exploring The Sexualization Of Female Recording Artists And The Empowerment Of Women In The United States, H.B. Rebeka

Dissertations

This dissertation, titled Shake Ya Ass, But Watch Yourself: An Intersectional and Decolonial Approach to Exploring the Sexualization of Female Recording Artists and the Empowerment of Women in the United States, critically examines the phenomenon of sexualization of women in the music industry and its impact on female empowerment. Through an intersectional and decolonial feminist lens, the study delves into the historical and socio-cultural contexts that shape the portrayal and perception of female recording artists in the United States.

The research traces the roots of feminism and the commodification of racial stereotypes through music, exploring how female empowerment has been …

Lost But Not Found: Southern Appalachia, Migration Patterns, And Culinary Tourism, Ashli Q. Stokes, Wendy Atkins-Sayre

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium

Despite growing acknowledgement of the variety of cultures that developed Southern Appalachia’s cuisine, some popular food writing continues to highlight the so-called insular nature of its food, drink, and culinary festivals. Regional tourists, especially those visiting its Blue Ridge or Smoky mountains, also remain likely to experience a delimited, often problematic Scots-Irish or white-European pioneer past, including when they eat and drink. Billboards advertise the outlaw Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show, visitors choose from moonshine tastings in dilapidated looking but new distilleries, and diners enjoy gourmet biscuits alongside gravy “flights” at trendy restaurants in Asheville, North Carolina. Appalachian Studies and …

Appalachia In The Anthropocene: An Approach To Understanding Neo Appalachian Narratives As An Affective Ecology, Rachel Michel Bates

English Theses & Dissertations

Appalachia is all too often a commodified and mythologized place in the American consciousness. Yet the lived experience of Appalachia is one complicated by widescale ecological devastation, high poverty rates, and most recently, a devastating opioid crisis. Though much of Appalachian literature continues to dwell in an old vision of Appalachia, an endeavor Zackary Vernon terms post-Appalachian, I argue that a subset of texts published around the turn of the millennium, a time when many of the labor-dependent, exploitative industries such as logging, hydro damming, and coal mining were no longer at work in the region, reveal a shift in …

Mountain (Grand) Mamas: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren During The Opioid Epidemic In Appalachian America And Their Portrayal In Media, Rosemary P. Kelley

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Deep within the hills of Appalachia grandparents are stepping into the familiar role of parenting as many have become the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. These grandparent-headed households (GHHs), a form of kinship care, have increased largely in response to the opioid epidemic that has ravaged the region; children are often left in the care of grandparents as parents experience substance use disorders and, in turn, incarceration. According to the US Census Bureau, over seven million grandparents live with their own grandchildren; over 32 percent of which serve as caregivers and are responsible for these children. The impact of kinship …

Flood Resiliency Planning: Historical Analysis And Youth Participation In Monongalia County, Wv, Josephine Q. Kemp-Rye, Jack P. Van Dusen, Kennedy Lawson

Undergraduate Scholarship

Flooding is a prevalent threat to community wellbeing, particularly in West Virginia where the mountainous topography and narrow valleys create perfect conditions for flood water to accumulate. To more deeply understand how hazards, such as flood events, become disastrous, we must consider not only the environmental/physical aspects, but also political, economic, and social dimensions. Thinking holistically about flood vulnerability acknowledges the influence of economic positioning, inadequate policies, industrial legacies, etc. which result in varied vulnerabilities to hazards within communities. The insights, knowledge, and experiences of local individuals and communities remain absent from domain top-down approaches to flood preparation. In an …

Is West Virginia A Haven For Disabled Workers? An Evolving Story, James V. Koch, Robert M. Mcnab

Economics Faculty Publications

With a particular focus on West Virginia, this study utilizes state-level monthly panel data over 13 years (2010-2022) to examine the determinants of the rates of application of individuals for Social Security Administration disabled worker income payments (SSDI) and the initial recommendations of those applications for approval by the states. Application rates are particularly sensitive to the educational attainment of state populations and approval rates to economic conditions. However, in contrast to media coverage and public perceptions, both the number of applications for SSDI and approval rates have been declining nationally and in West Virginia.

Nonprofit Organizations And Arts Education In A Rural Community, Elise Lael Kieffer

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The connection between public administration and nonprofit administration has been in existence since ancient times, when individual volunteers (the predecessors of a formal nonprofit sector) met humanitarian needs to which the government was unwilling or unable to attend. Addams (1910) formalized this intersecting relationship during her time working in Chicago’s slums with refugees. Pandey & Johnsons (2019) drew connections between public administration, public policy, and nonprofit management. They concluded that discoveries in one of those domains should necessarily be applied to the others. They advised that continued research should draw explicit connections across those sectors and highlighted examples of the …

Review-Fishing For Chickens: A Smokies Food Memoir, Blake Denton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.