Understanding Appalachian Culture: A Thumbnail Sketch

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-13
Author(s):  
Anthony Roark ◽  
Gloriajean Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Appalachian Culture

The Bristol Sessions: The Big Bang of Country Music—Music and Culture in the South-Central Appalachians

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Place
Keyword(s):  
Country Music ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
State University ◽  
Appalachian Culture ◽  
Central Appalachians ◽  
South Central ◽  
Participant Selection ◽  
Site Design ◽  
The Big Bang

This chapter details the curatorial decisions that defined thematic focus and scope, participant selection, and site design and organization for a 2003 program about Appalachian culture. The author recounts the challenges of organizing and fund-raising for a multi-state program in worsening financial times. He also describes how the Smithsonian worked with its partners, the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance and East Tennessee State University, to develop a program that demonstrated the breadth of Appalachian culture. These efforts dispelled many of the stereotypes that have historically plagued these communities

Housing Insecurities and Homelessness Among Children and Unaccompanied Youth in Rural Appalachian Communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 23-45
Author(s):  
Sara Bender ◽  
Imelda N. Bratton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Homeless Children ◽  
Health Treatment ◽  
Profound Impact ◽  
Appalachian Culture ◽  
Unaccompanied Youth ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Unique Context

Homelessness may have a profound impact on a child's physical, socio-emotional, and/or cognitive development. Cultural context may further exacerbate the impact of such circumstances. Past literature confirms that the Appalachian culture is distinct from mainstream America, suggesting that various interventions, including mental health treatment, may not be received similarly or have the same impact as they would in other communities. This chapter addresses how to support children and unaccompanied youth facing homelessness or housing insecurity within rural Appalachian communities. Existing research addresses the developmental consequences of homelessness; however, there is limited literature dedicated to understanding how the unique context of the Appalachian culture may affect these conditions. The aim of this chapter is to provide educators, counselors, and similar professionals with an overview regarding how to best support homeless children and unaccompanied youth within Appalachian communities.

scholarly journals Diabetes in Appalachia: providers’ perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Beverly ◽  
Marilyn D. Ritholz ◽  
Karie Cook ◽  
Lesli K. Johnson ◽  
Anirudh Ruhil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Diabetes Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Cultural Humility ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Appalachian Culture ◽  
Patients With Diabetes ◽  
Appalachian Ohio

Abstract Background: Southeastern Appalachian Ohio has more than double the national average of diabetes and a critical shortage of healthcare providers. Paradoxically, there is limited research focused on primary care providers’ experiences treating people with diabetes in this region. This study explored providers’ perceived barriers to and facilitators for treating patients with diabetes in southeastern Appalachian Ohio. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with healthcare providers who treat people with diabetes in rural southeastern Ohio. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed via content and thematic analyses using NVivo 12 software (QSR International, Chadstone, VIC, Australia). Results: Qualitative analysis revealed four themes: (1) patients’ diabetes fatalism and helplessness: providers recounted story after story of patients believing that their diabetes was inevitable and that they were helpless to prevent or delay diabetes complications. (2) Comorbid psychosocial issues: providers described high rates of depression, anxiety, incest, abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder among people with diabetes in this region. (3) Inter-connected social determinants interfering with diabetes care: providers identified major barriers including lack of access to providers, lack of access to transportation, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and financial insecurity. (4) Providers’ cultural understanding and recommendations: providers emphasized the importance of understanding of the values central to Appalachian culture and gave culturally attuned clinical suggestions for how to use these values when working with this population. Conclusions: Evidence-based interventions tailored to Appalachian culture and training designed to increase the cultural competency and cultural humility of primary care providers may be effective approaches to reduce barriers to diabetes care in Appalachian Ohio.

“The Spiritual Energy of the Trees”: Nature, Place, and Religion in Silas House’s Crow County Trilogy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Hamilton Suter
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Native Land ◽  
Appalachian Culture ◽  
Spiritual Energy

This chapter discusses Silas House's Crow County trilogy, which demonstrates binding connections to both family and place: Clay's Quilt (2001), A Parchment of Leaves (2002), and The Coal Tattoo (2004). All three novels trace four generations of several families in fictional Crow County, Kentucky, portraying their struggles and triumphs in one of the northwesternmost extremities of the mountain South. Raised in the Pentecostal Church, House places important metaphysical emphasis on spiritual relationships with nature and one's native land. A closer examination of his Crow County trilogy reveals the ties and disparities between Pentecostal Christianity and meaningful spiritual links to land. Emphasizing the spiritual and religious beliefs of his characters, House demonstrates the significant role the natural environment plays in Appalachian culture. While he explores the importance of traditional religion, he juxtaposes those customary expressions with the spiritual significance of the natural surroundings.

Appalachian Culture and Resistance

1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Tice ◽  
Dwight Billings
Keyword(s):  
Appalachian Culture

The Suspicious, Untrusting Hillbilly in Political-Economic Contexts: Stereotypes and Social Trust in the Appalachian Coalfields

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 42-46
Author(s):  
Shaunna Scott ◽  
Stephanie McSpirit
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Environmental Disaster ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Appalachian Culture ◽  
The Social ◽  
Appalachian Kentucky ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Political Economic

Over the past fourteen years, the authors of this article have collaborated on two community-based participatory action research projects in Appalachian Kentucky. One focused on assessing the social impacts of a major environmental disaster (2000-2014) and the other involves partnering with a small community seeking to transition a struggling, coal-driven economy to a more diverse and sustainable one (2013-present). In what follows, we discuss our experiences working with these Appalachian coalfield communities, which are characterized by low levels of social trust, a situation complicated by negative stereotypes and confused thinking by non-residents about Appalachian coalfield culture. First, we discuss stereotypes of Appalachian culture, among them suspicion and hostility toward "outsiders" and native tendencies toward violence. After debunking the myth that Appalachian culture creates distrust of outsiders, we identify the political economic structures, which have eroded trust in the Central Appalachian coal communities, with particular attention to institutional, structural, and intraregional variation in social trust. Finally, we identify strategies to engage effectively in communities characterized by low levels of trust in government, corporations, and neighbors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document