Appalachian Studies Commons^™

Recording Review Of Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection

Book Review Of Stephen Wade: The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings And The American Experience, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Stephen Wade: The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience

Eating In Opposition: Strategies Of Resistance Through Food In The Lives Of Rural Andean And Appalachian Mountain Women, Veronica A. Limeberry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines ways in which rural mountain women of Andean Peru and southern Appalachia use their lived histories and food knowledge in ways that counter Cartesian epistemologies regarding national and international food systems. Using women’s fiction and cookbooks, this thesis examines how voice and narrative reclaim women’s spaces within food landscapes. Further, this thesis examines women’s non-profits and grassroots organizations to illustrate the ways in which rural mountain women expand upon their lived histories in ways that contribute to tangible solutions to poverty and hunger in rural mountainous communities. The primary objective of this thesis is to recover rural …

Handling Authenticity: A Discourse Analysis Of Interviews With Signs-Following Preachers, Chelsie M. Dubay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The National Geographic Channel’s miniseries “Snake Salvation” resurrected a vested interest with the heavily documented practices of signs-following believers in central Appalachia. The current body of scholarship surrounding these congregations focuses mostly on oral history narratives and explanations of religious fundamentalism; a critical analysis of the discourse shared by these congregation members is noticeably absent.

This thesis explores selected interviews with George Hensley, Andrew Hamblin, Jamie Coots, and Alfred Ball through the interdisciplinary application of discourse analysis paired with social disclosure theory to unveil the underlying struggles with power and personal beliefs expressed by each pastor. The research performed throughout …

Ron Rash’S Serena: A Novel (2008): Dramatizing The Industrial Logging Of The Appalachian Forest, And The Continuing Debate Between Laissez Faire Capitalists And Proponents Of Government, Michael Deel

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis, the author gives a summary of Ron Rash’s 2008 novel, Serena, and discusses the history behind the novel and the time period that the novel was set in. This thesis discusses the socioeconomic struggles of the Gilded Age, and the role of government intervention in the economy and everyday life during the Reformation Era under Theodore Roosevelt, and the implementation of the National Park Service. The thesis goes on to mention why the Smoky Mountain National Park is especially important, for its natural uniqueness and the important precedent the formation of the park represents in the history …

“That’S The Way I’Ve Always Learned”: The Transmission Of Traditional Music In Higher Education, Alexandra Frank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the establishment of degree programs in traditional music in institutions of higher education. It defines traditional music and discusses the history of traditional and folk music programs at universities and conservatories in the United States, Finland, Scotland, and England. The institutionalization of American traditional music is compared to the institutionalization of jazz music in the United States. This thesis focuses on the Bluegrass, Old- Time, and Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University and features original ethnographic interviews with lecturers from the program. Two similar programs in Tennessee and Kentucky are also discussed. Some of …

The Commission On Religion In Appalachia And The Twentieth-Century Emphasis On Rural Identity, Joseph K. Spiker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) was a mission organization founded in 1965 to bring economic and religious uplift to Appalachia. CORA focused on rural areas and relied on prevalent stereotypes to define the region as homogenous and backward, and its definition permeated its mission work. CORA members were influenced by 1931 and 1958 religious surveys that largely reinforced established Appalachian stereotypes of poverty and isolation.

However, Appalachia's urban areas offered a broader definition and understanding of the region. By 1900 there were examples of Jewish communities in Appalachian urban areas that persisted throughout the twentieth century. Urban areas …

Now & Then (Volume 29, Issue 02, 2014), Center Of Excellence For Appalachian Studies And Services, East Tennessee State University

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 29, Issue 02, published in 2014. The theme of this issue is Music in Appalachia. This issue reflects on the role music has in shaping personal identity, community life, and regional tradition. It brings together historical accounts and contemporary reflections that connect early folk practices, recorded sessions, and festival traditions with present day performance and reinterpretation. Attention is given to the movement of music between rural and urban spaces, the blending of influences across racial and cultural lines, and the persistence of locally rooted styles alongside global connections. Personal narratives emphasize music …

Now & Then (Volume 30, Issue 01, 2014), Center Of Excellence For Appalachian Studies And Services, East Tennessee State University

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 30, Issue 01, published in 2014. The theme of this issue is Civil Wars in Appalachia. It uses the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War to examine conflict, division, and reconciliation within the region. It presents historical accounts and personal narratives that document the impact of the war on families and communities, including loss, displacement, and long lasting social divisions. The issue also connects nineteenth century conflict to ongoing disputes over land, resources, and authority, illustrating how struggles over ownership and identity have persisted in different forms. Attention is given to military …

Recording Review Of Woody Guthrie, American Radical Patriot, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of Woody Guthrie, American Radical Patriot

Book Review Of Art Rosenbaum: The Mary Lomax Ballad Book: America's Great Twenty-First Century Traditional Singer, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of Art Rosenbaum: The Mary Lomax Ballad Book: America's Great Twenty-first Century Traditional Singer

Carroll Best: Old-Time 'Fiddle-Style Banjo' From The Great Smoky Mountains, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: In an interview published in the February 1992 issue of The Banjo Newsletter and conducted by bluegrass historian Neil Rosenberg and banjo player and instruction book author Tony Trischka, Carroll Best conveyed the depth of his connections to the instrument he had mastered: “When I was old enough to pick up a banjo I wanted to play.”

The National Storytelling Festival: Words, Music, And Memories, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: A Other acclaimed masters of the spoken word scheduled to appear at this year’s Festival include David Novak, Minton Sparks, Joseph Bruchac, Milbre Burch, and Jackson Gillman. Each year the Festival seeks to represent storytelling from a range of cultural traditions, and this year is no exception. Rev. Robert Jones and Diane Ferlatte will present stories and music relating African American experience, while Festival attendees may also see and hear performances by Yiddish storyteller Shonaleigh, Chinese American storyteller and musician Charlie Chin, and Brazilian performance artist Antonio Rocha. Several special events will be held in Anyone who shares an …

Book Review Of Caleb Beissert: Federico Garcia Lorca & Pablo Neruda: Beautiful, Translations From The Spanish, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of Caleb Beissert: Federico Garcia Lorca & Pablo Neruda: Beautiful, Translations from the Spanish

Now & Then (Volume 29, Issue 01, 2013), Center Of Excellence For Appalachian Studies And Services, East Tennessee State University

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 29, Issue 01, published in 2013. The theme of this issue is Appalachian Industry. This issue traces the region's varied forms of labor from agriculture and craft production to manufacturing, resource extraction, and emerging local economies. It presents personal narratives and historical accounts that connect work to identity, emphasizing how industry has shaped daily life, family structures, and community values. Attention is given to wartime production, scientific research, and industrial expansion, as well as to smaller scale and evolving enterprises such as craft markets, food production, and tourism. The issue also considers …

Now & Then (Volume 28, Issue 02, 2013), Center Of Excellence For Appalachian Studies And Services, East Tennessee State University

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 28, Issue 02, published in 2013. The theme of this issue is Global Appalachia. This issue brings together the region's connections to international cultures, histories, and exchanges. Through comparative studies, personal narratives, and cultural accounts, it considers parallels between Appalachia and regions such as Rwanda, China, Alaska, and Europe, illustrating shared experiences of landscape, resource use, and misrepresentation. The issue also documents the presence of global influences within Appalachia, including immigrant communities, cross cultural relationships, artistic exchange, and the worldwide movement of Appalachian traditions. Attention is given to how global perspectives shape …

Omnibus Survivorship Narratives: Multiple Morbidities Among Female Cancer Survivors In South Central Appalachia, Kelly A. Dorgan, Kathryn L. Duvall, Sadie P. Hutson

ETSU Faculty Works

This study examines the illness narratives of female cancer survivors living in Southern Central Appalachia. Stories of 29 female Appalachian cancer survivors from northeastern Tennessee and southwcstmn Virginia were collected via a mixed methods approach in either a day-long story circle (n=26) or an in-depth interview (n=3), Qualitative content analysis was used to guide an inductive analysis of the tTanscript<;, What emerged was that as participants survived cancer, they also survived other health conditions, their intorsccting stories yielding an omnibus survivorship narrative.

Czech Bluegrass Fiddlers And Their Negotiations Of Past And Present, Lee Bidgood

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: Proc ty housle? ("Why the fiddle?") - "Fiddlers are all bad here - Why not write about the banjo or something else that Czechs are good at?"These questions about my ethnographic fieldwork came from musician colleagues with whom I working in researching bluegrass music in the Czech Republic, during a jam circle around a table. While these colleagues were mainly banjo and guitar players, these critiques of Czech fiddling are common even among Czech fiddlers, who are in many cases not as accomplished (in technical skill or musicality) as are their banjo-playing and mandolin-picking compatriots.

Recording Review Of Charlie Poole With The Highlanders: Complete Recordings, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of Charlie Poole with The Highlanders: Complete Recordings

'Can You Sing Or Play Old-Time Music?': The Johnson City Sessions, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: In a recent interview, musician Wynton Marsalis said, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve suggested to musicians to get The Bristol Sessions—Anglo-American folk music.

Mothered, Mothering & Motherizing In Illness Narratives: What Women Cancer Survivors In Southern Central Appalachia Reveal About Mothering-Disruption, Kelly A. Dorgan, Kathryn L. Duvall, Sadie P. Hutson, Amber E. Kinser

ETSU Faculty Works

Informed by a mothering-disruption framework, our study examines the illness narratives of women cancer survivors living in Southern Central Appalachia. We collected the stories of twenty-nine women cancer survivors from northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia using a multi-phasic qualitative design. Phase I consisted of women cancer survivors participating in a day-long story circle (n=26). Phase II consisted of women cancer survivors who were unable to attend the story circle ; this sample sub-set participated in in-depth interviews (n=3) designed to capture their illness narratives. Participants' illness narratives revealed the presence of: (1) mothering-disruption whereby cancer adversely impacted the mothering role …

The Longest Night, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Word-Weaving In Tennessee: The National Storytelling Festival, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: Appalachia is a storied land. Every place within the region has its own story, and virtually every person who has spent a significant amount of time in a specific Appalachian place has been affected by—indeed, has become part of—that story.

Book Review Of The Troubles And Their Aftermath: James B. Johnston's Memories Of Northern Ireland, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of The Troubles and Their Aftermath: James B. Johnston's Memories of Northern Ireland by James B. Johnson

Book Review Of The Oxford Book Of American Poetry: The Difficulty Of Anthologizing American Poetry, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of The Oxford Book of American Poetry: The Difficulty of Anthologizing American Poetry

James Still: The Dean Of Appalachian Literature, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: James Still (1906-2001) wrote “Heritage,” his signature poem, in 1935, and he continued to read it before audiences large and small into the 21st Century.

Robinson Jeffers: Appalachian, Californian, Poet, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: April is also National Poetry Month, and this column will focus on an April-themed poem—not one of the many April poems evincing sincere religiosity or forced sentimentality, and not that famous poem that cynically asserts that “April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land.

The Bristol Sessions: A Memorable Marriage Of Tradition And Technology, Ted Olson

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: Transcribed from a time-less song recorded in August 1927 by the Carter Family, the above lyrics (and their accompanying, memorably lilting melody) have moved millions of people worldwide.

Now & Then (Volume 27, Issue 02, 2012), Center Of Excellence For Appalachian Studies And Services, East Tennessee State University

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 27, Issue 02, published in 2012. The theme of this issue is Serving Appalachia. This issue highlights the many ways individuals and organizations dedicate themselves to meeting the needs of Appalachian communities through compassion, advocacy, education, and faith. Articles profile efforts ranging from housing assistance, disaster relief, and programs for women and at risk youth to grassroots healthcare, community agriculture, the arts, and initiatives supporting people with disabilities. Personal stories of teachers, nurses, volunteers, activists, and everyday citizens underscore service as both a moral calling and a practical response to hardship, while …

Now & Then (Volume 28, Issue 01, 2012), Center Of Excellence For Appalachian Studies And Services, East Tennessee State University

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine

Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, Volume 28, Issue 01, published in 2012. The theme of this issue is Nuevo Appalachia. This issue examines the historical and contemporary presence of Hispanic and Latino communities in the region. It traces early Spanish exploration alongside modern immigration patterns, highlighting how Latino populations have reshaped communities in both urban and rural Appalachia through work, family life, entrepreneurship, and cultural traditions. Essays and narratives address themes of migration, assimilation, and identity, including responses to immigration enforcement, access to housing, and the development of local institutions and religious practices. Foodways, festivals, music, and language …