More to Explore in Appalachian Studies
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, sits squarely within Appalachia, and a group coming together from across campus aims to enhance the scholarship, creative activity, and community engagement with the region and across disciplines.
A recent Appalachian Studies Showcase highlighted opportunities already available in areas ranging from scientific research to art to law.
“Our vision for this was kind of like a mini version of the Appalachian Studies Conference, which is an academic conference, but it also brings in community groups,” said Associate Professor Joe Witt, who monitored a panel discussion and who teaches a Religions in Appalachia course in the Department of Religious Studies.
Faculty members began informally connecting last year, and in fall 2024 Gracie Amburn, a senior majoring in history, founded the Appalachian Heritage Society for students. The group is open to any undergraduate or graduate student interested in the region, regardless of where they were born. It fosters discussions and promotes courses connected to the region.
The expanse of options to explore topics related to Appalachia was evident among the panel’s faculty members.
Range of disciplines
Senior Lecturer Sean McCollough, teaches about Appalachian music in the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music and founded the UT Appalachian String Band in 2022. Associate Professor Bill Hardwig teaches Appalachia Now in the Department of English, a course that dives into the range of writing, films, music, and storytelling.
Professor Michael McKinney from the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, serves as director of the environmental studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), and Professor Michelle Brown from the Department of Sociology is co-director of the Appalachian Justice Research Center (AJRC). The transdisciplinary research center and training collaborative is co-sponsored by CAS and the UT College of Law.
Witt pointed to several other examples at UT. Assistant Professor Gabe Schwartzman in the Department of Geography and Sustainability is researching human geography in Central Appalachia and the decline of the coal industry, and Assistant Professor Lindsay Shade in the Department of Sociology is addressing community problems related to land in southern Appalachia. Urban Appalachian studies also have been part of the Just Environments seminar at the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts.
The showcase also had representatives from Appalachian Voices, a publication that covers the region’s environmental, outdoor, and cultural news, and the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, whose current Homelands exhibition was co-curated by four Native Nations connected to the region.
History of Appalachian research
“We’ve had people like Wilma Dykeman teach here at UT, we’ve had people like John Gaventa, and these are foundational figures in Appalachian studies,” Witt said. In addition, the surrounding community includes organizations such as the Highlander Research and Education Center, which supports grassroots organizing in Appalachia, and the Black in Appalachia nonprofit highlighting the history of African Americans in the region.
“Very important work in Appalachia is being done here in Knoxville, or has been here in Knoxville in the past,” Witt said.
While outside views of Appalachia often have centered on stereotypes and some view it as a backwater or forgotten region, Witt said Appalachia is representational of many international dynamics shaping it economically, sociologically, and in other ways.
“There’s been the stereotype of rural, white, poor. It’s never only been that way,” Witt said. “Appalachia has always had urban regions. It’s always been a multiracial, multi-ethnic region.”
Although conversations are only beginning, at the networking stage, the leaders are considering the future of studying Appalachia at UT, as a land-grant institution and R1 research university.
They also are looking at possibilities for collaborative research and more academic seminars, including perhaps again hosting the Appalachian Studies Association’s annual conference, which has not been held in Knoxville since 2000.
Organizers have formed an email LISTSERV to share information among faculty, community members and students, with more than two dozen members. To join the Appalachian studies group, email Witt.
By Amy Beth Miller