Appalachia: Social Context Past and Present

Author(s): Mike E Maloney

Choose Your Format

Appalachia--land and people--is one of the most complex subjects any writer ever attempted to understand, let alone explain to others. John C. Campbell, one of the earliest writers to take on the task, said "more is known about the place that isn't so than about any other place," and stereotypes had not fully taken hold at the time he wrote. Some expert witnesses say that there actually is no "Appalachia," that the name just represents a figment of the academic imagination. Yet Appalachia is not nothing. A portion of the geographical region extends through New England to Nova Scotia, but it is not New England.

Nor is it the South, the Mississippi Delta or the Midwest, even though parts of it extend through these regions as well. If Appalachia is not nothing, then what is it? Appalachia: Social Context, Past and Present examines these issues in thirty-nine chapters that cover a broad range of subjects. This book will be of interest to students, human service workers, educators, researchers, librarians, reporters, administrators, and policy makers. 

Appalachia: Social Context, Past and Present, Fifth Edition, edited by Phillip J. Obermiller and Michael E. Maloney provides a new perspective on Appalachia. The essays reflect thoughtful definitions and analyses by scholars, activists, service providers, and community leaders who have joined the growing public dialogue about the region. It also contains sophisticated theoretical analyses of the region and of similar places worldwide that have emerged from that public discourse. These essays show not an isolated region and insular people, but rather Appalachia as a part of the global order. 

This widely used reader is now available in a fifth edition featuring new entries in the areas of migration, politics, health, poverty, welfare reform and participatory research.  Data from the 2000 census are used throughout.  The volume also features individual sections on selected Appalachian publications, videos and Web sites.  The new edition continues a tradition of presenting "a new look at an old region" and is designed to serve as a textbook for Appalachian studies courses.  With 37 chapters in nine topical areas, many find it useful as a general referenec book on contemporary Appalachia as well. 

Foreword to the Fifth Edition by Chad Berry 

About the Contributors 

Preface to the Fifth Edition 

I.  What Is Appalachia

1. "Appalachia" by Richard A. Couto 

2. "The Sociology of Southern Appalachia" by David S. Walls and Dwight B. Billings 

3. "Appalachian Studies, Resistance, and Postmodernism" by Alan Banks, Dwight B. Billings, and Karen Tice 

II. Appalachian Diversity   

4. "The Eastern Cherokees in Southern Appalachia: Principal People, Persistent People" by Betty J. Duggan 

5. "Race and Racism in Nineteenth-Century Southern Appalachia: Myths, Realities, and Ambiguities" by John C. Inscoe 

6. "Gender, Class and Self-Image" by Judith Ivy Fiene 

7. "Out in the Mountains: Exploring Lesbian and Gay Lives" by Kate Black and Marc A. Rhorer 

III. Migration and Urbanization   

8. "Moving Mountains: Appalachian Migration Patterns, 1995-2000" by Phillip J. Obermiller and Steven R. Howe 

9. "`We ain't agoin' back': A Retrospective Look at Urban Appalachians in Greater Cincinnati" by Phillip J. Obermiller and Michael E. Maloney 

10. "Seeing Appalachian Cities" by Emily Satterwhite 

IV. Appalachian Stereotypes   

11.  "`Hillbilly Culture': The Appalachian Mountain Folk in History and Popular Culture" by John Solomon Otto 

12. "From Stereotype to Regional Hype: Strategies for Changing Media Portrayals of Appalachia" by Jean Haskell Speer 

13.  "Beyond Isolation and Homogeneity: Diversity and the History of Appalachia" by Ronald L. Lewis 

V. The New Appalachian Culture   

14. "Diversity in the Mountains and Regional and Cultural Identity" by Gordon B. McKinney 

15. "Appalachian Music and American Popular Culture: The Romance That Will Not Die" by Bill C. Malone 

16. "Dialect as a Deterrent to Cultural Stripping: Why Appalachian Migrants Continue to Talk That Talk" by Patricia Smith Jones 

17. "Some Observations" by Loyal Jones 

18. "Constructing and Staffing the Cultural Bridge: The School as Change Agent in Rural Appalachia" by Alan J. DeYoung 

19. "`Living Poor and Voting Rich' in Appalachia" by David Sutton 

VI. Health and the Environment   

20. "Work, Poverty, and Health in Appalachia" by Richard A. Couto, Phillip J. Obermiller and Julia C. DeBruicker 

21. "Family Health in a Rural Ohio Appalachian County" by Sharon A. Denham 

22. "Rape of the Appalachians" by Jedediah S. Purdy 

VII. The Political Economy of Appalachia   

23. "Poverty and Income in Appalachia" by Deborah Thorne, Ann Tickamyer and Mark Thorne 

24. "Four Perspectives on Appalachian Culture and Poverty" by Roger A. Lohmann 

25. "From Farm to Coal Camp to Back Office and McDonald's: Living in the Midst of Appalachia's Latest Transformation" by Sally Ward Maggard 

26. "A New Sustainable Cash Crop for Mountain Farmers" by Carl G. Kilbourne 

27. "The Mountain Crafts: Romancing the Marketplace" by Garry Barker 

28. "A New Wave of Colonization: The Economics of the Tourism and Travel Industry in Appalachian Kentucky" by Stephen Paul Whitaker 

29. "Prospects for the UMWA" by Maier B. Fox 

VIII. Policy Issues   

30. "Policies and Programs" by Richard A. Couto 

31. "A Political Approach to Regional Develop­ment" by Michael Bradshaw 

32. "Where All the Counties Are Above Average: Top Down versus Bottom Up Perspectives on Welfare Reform" by Ann Tickamyer, Julie White, Barry Tadlock, and Debra Henderson 

IX. Resistance and Community Organizing   

33. "The Grass Roots Speak Back" by Stephen L. Fisher

Mike E Maloney

Appalachia--land and people--is one of the most complex subjects any writer ever attempted to understand, let alone explain to others. John C. Campbell, one of the earliest writers to take on the task, said "more is known about the place that isn't so than about any other place," and stereotypes had not fully taken hold at the time he wrote. Some expert witnesses say that there actually is no "Appalachia," that the name just represents a figment of the academic imagination. Yet Appalachia is not nothing. A portion of the geographical region extends through New England to Nova Scotia, but it is not New England.

Nor is it the South, the Mississippi Delta or the Midwest, even though parts of it extend through these regions as well. If Appalachia is not nothing, then what is it? Appalachia: Social Context, Past and Present examines these issues in thirty-nine chapters that cover a broad range of subjects. This book will be of interest to students, human service workers, educators, researchers, librarians, reporters, administrators, and policy makers. 

Appalachia: Social Context, Past and Present, Fifth Edition, edited by Phillip J. Obermiller and Michael E. Maloney provides a new perspective on Appalachia. The essays reflect thoughtful definitions and analyses by scholars, activists, service providers, and community leaders who have joined the growing public dialogue about the region. It also contains sophisticated theoretical analyses of the region and of similar places worldwide that have emerged from that public discourse. These essays show not an isolated region and insular people, but rather Appalachia as a part of the global order. 

This widely used reader is now available in a fifth edition featuring new entries in the areas of migration, politics, health, poverty, welfare reform and participatory research.  Data from the 2000 census are used throughout.  The volume also features individual sections on selected Appalachian publications, videos and Web sites.  The new edition continues a tradition of presenting "a new look at an old region" and is designed to serve as a textbook for Appalachian studies courses.  With 37 chapters in nine topical areas, many find it useful as a general referenec book on contemporary Appalachia as well. 

Foreword to the Fifth Edition by Chad Berry 

About the Contributors 

Preface to the Fifth Edition 

I.  What Is Appalachia

1. "Appalachia" by Richard A. Couto 

2. "The Sociology of Southern Appalachia" by David S. Walls and Dwight B. Billings 

3. "Appalachian Studies, Resistance, and Postmodernism" by Alan Banks, Dwight B. Billings, and Karen Tice 

II. Appalachian Diversity   

4. "The Eastern Cherokees in Southern Appalachia: Principal People, Persistent People" by Betty J. Duggan 

5. "Race and Racism in Nineteenth-Century Southern Appalachia: Myths, Realities, and Ambiguities" by John C. Inscoe 

6. "Gender, Class and Self-Image" by Judith Ivy Fiene 

7. "Out in the Mountains: Exploring Lesbian and Gay Lives" by Kate Black and Marc A. Rhorer 

III. Migration and Urbanization   

8. "Moving Mountains: Appalachian Migration Patterns, 1995-2000" by Phillip J. Obermiller and Steven R. Howe 

9. "`We ain't agoin' back': A Retrospective Look at Urban Appalachians in Greater Cincinnati" by Phillip J. Obermiller and Michael E. Maloney 

10. "Seeing Appalachian Cities" by Emily Satterwhite 

IV. Appalachian Stereotypes   

11.  "`Hillbilly Culture': The Appalachian Mountain Folk in History and Popular Culture" by John Solomon Otto 

12. "From Stereotype to Regional Hype: Strategies for Changing Media Portrayals of Appalachia" by Jean Haskell Speer 

13.  "Beyond Isolation and Homogeneity: Diversity and the History of Appalachia" by Ronald L. Lewis 

V. The New Appalachian Culture   

14. "Diversity in the Mountains and Regional and Cultural Identity" by Gordon B. McKinney 

15. "Appalachian Music and American Popular Culture: The Romance That Will Not Die" by Bill C. Malone 

16. "Dialect as a Deterrent to Cultural Stripping: Why Appalachian Migrants Continue to Talk That Talk" by Patricia Smith Jones 

17. "Some Observations" by Loyal Jones 

18. "Constructing and Staffing the Cultural Bridge: The School as Change Agent in Rural Appalachia" by Alan J. DeYoung 

19. "`Living Poor and Voting Rich' in Appalachia" by David Sutton 

VI. Health and the Environment   

20. "Work, Poverty, and Health in Appalachia" by Richard A. Couto, Phillip J. Obermiller and Julia C. DeBruicker 

21. "Family Health in a Rural Ohio Appalachian County" by Sharon A. Denham 

22. "Rape of the Appalachians" by Jedediah S. Purdy 

VII. The Political Economy of Appalachia   

23. "Poverty and Income in Appalachia" by Deborah Thorne, Ann Tickamyer and Mark Thorne 

24. "Four Perspectives on Appalachian Culture and Poverty" by Roger A. Lohmann 

25. "From Farm to Coal Camp to Back Office and McDonald's: Living in the Midst of Appalachia's Latest Transformation" by Sally Ward Maggard 

26. "A New Sustainable Cash Crop for Mountain Farmers" by Carl G. Kilbourne 

27. "The Mountain Crafts: Romancing the Marketplace" by Garry Barker 

28. "A New Wave of Colonization: The Economics of the Tourism and Travel Industry in Appalachian Kentucky" by Stephen Paul Whitaker 

29. "Prospects for the UMWA" by Maier B. Fox 

VIII. Policy Issues   

30. "Policies and Programs" by Richard A. Couto 

31. "A Political Approach to Regional Develop­ment" by Michael Bradshaw 

32. "Where All the Counties Are Above Average: Top Down versus Bottom Up Perspectives on Welfare Reform" by Ann Tickamyer, Julie White, Barry Tadlock, and Debra Henderson 

IX. Resistance and Community Organizing   

33. "The Grass Roots Speak Back" by Stephen L. Fisher

Mike E Maloney