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48th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference | Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, Tennessee | March 20 - 22, 2025.
Type: Panel clear filter
Friday, March 21
 

8:00am CDT

After All, the Water Will Come: Flooding and Resilience in Appalachia
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 004
Convener: Alison Stine, NPQ
  • "Driving Us Away, Bringing Us Home," Alison Stine, NPQ
  • "New Work About Flooding from the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center," Brendan Muckian-Bates, Appalachian Citizens' Law Center
  • "A Time Measured in Water: The 1998 Flooding of SE Ohio," Wesley R. Bishop, Jacksonville State University, Alabama
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Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Authors-Meet-Critics: Power and Just Transition: The Struggle for a Post-Coal Future in an Appalachian Valley
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 304B
Convener: Gabe Schwartzman, University of Tennessee
Presenters:
  • Barbara Ellen Smith, Emerita
  • Philip Lewin, Florida Atlantic University
  • Rebecca Scott, University of Missouri
  • Cathy Kunkel, Independent
Authors’ Response 
  • John Gaventa, Institute for Development Studies
  • Gabe Schwartzman, University of Tennessee
Summary: In this session, panelists respond to John Gaventa and Gabe Schwartzman's forthcoming book, Power and Just Transition: the Struggle for a Post-Coal Future in an Appalachian Valley. Nearly fifty years after Gaventa's groundbreaking text, Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley, the co-authors revisit the Clearfork Valley, the setting of the first book, and ask how power relations are shifting in a moment of fossil fuel transition. Fifty years ago, the coal company was a defining actor in relations of power in this valley. Now, the valley produces no coal and The Nature Conservancy, the world's wealthiest environmental organization, controls much of the land in the valley. The book raises questions about how power relations shift as actors and economies change, using a power framework to examine the rise of the conservative right, emerging for-profit conservation models, grassroots struggles for a just transition, and Biden-era investments in environmental justice and energy transition. Panelists will provide critical reflections on the new book and its contributions to Appalachian Studies scholarship.
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Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Be a Man: Healthier Masculinity in the Mountain South
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 316
Convener: Matthew Sidney Parsons, Independent
• Matthew Sidney Parsons, Independent
• Willie Carver, KY120 United AFT, LGBTQ+ Taskforce
• Rick Childers, Berea College
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Black Geographies in Appalachia
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 214
Convener: Jillean McCommons, University of Richmond
  • "The ‘Double Minority’ Position: Black Feminism in the Black Appalachian Commission, 1971-1974," Jillean McCommons, University of Richmond, Wilma Dykeman Faces of Appalachia Fellow 2024-2025
  • "‘It's Always Nice to Have People That Has Your Back’: Black Appalachian Women Working Within and Beyond State-led Agricultural Organizations," Jed DeBruin, Jacksonville State University
  • "The Decline of Over the Rhine: Urban Renewal and Community Erosion in a Rural Appalachian City," Dorian Cleveland, University of Kentucky
  • "‘Remembering Where it Used to be’: (Re)claiming the Hills and Hollers as Historically Black Spaces in Eastern Kentucky," Kristan L. McCullum, Clemson University
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Drawing Environmental Justice Connections Between in Appalachia and the India
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 305

Convener and Presenter: Denali Sai Nalamalapu, Independent.


Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Finding Our Appalachian Voices in the North
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 108
Convener: Jody DiPerna, Independent
  • "Death in a Small Mill Town," Jody DiPerna, Independent
  • "Driverless Cars in a Mountain Region," Patrick McGinty, Slippery Rock University
  • "American Glass, a reading," Christina Fisanick, Pennsylvania Western University
  • "Careful Negotiations, a reading," Natalie Sypolt, Pierpont Community & Technical College


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Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Medical Histories
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 216
Convener: Bob Hutton
• "Cottage Plans and Work Cures: Highland Hospital and the Romantically Restorative Rural," Gabby Kiser, University of Virginia
• "Appalachian Women, WWII, and Changes in Mountain Medicine," Gracie Amburn, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• "The History of Herbal Usage among Cherokee Women," Catherine Philips, Tennessee Tech University
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Recovering the History of Resistance to Slavery in Appalachia: The Greenup County Slave Revolt of 1829 and the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 216
Convener: Cicero M. Fain, III, Marshall University 
  • "Finding the Greenup County Slave Revolt in David Walker’s Appeal," Andrew Feight, Shawnee State University
  • "Researching Slavery in Eastern Kentucky and the Mystery of Dinah's Execution," Marlitta Perkins, Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative
  • "Thinking about the Greenup Slave Revolt in Terms of Environment," Chris Leadingham, University of Kentucky
Summary: Dr. Cicero M. Fain, III will convene a panel session focusing on the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative, funded by an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER Grant. Panelists include Dr. Andrew Feight, Director of Research and Outreach for the Initiative; Marlitta H. Perkins, an Outreach Specialist for Greenup County, Kentucky; and Dr. Chris Leadingham, a project consultant with the University of Kentucky. 
 
This session will highlight ARC-supported research on Underground Railroad history in the tri-state region of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio, uncovering largely forgotten chapters of resistance to slavery in Appalachia. The discussion will center on the Greenup County Slave Revolt of 1829, a long-overlooked chapter in the region’s history. Over a decade of research by Feight, Perkins, and Leadingham, along with significant new discoveries in archives from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Louisiana, allow for a more complete story to be told and the memories of those involved commemorated. 
  
The panel will outline plans to mark and commemorate the site of the revolt, located near the banks of Tygart Creek, close to what was once Liberty, Kentucky. The site, formerly home to Lynn Elementary School, will soon feature a public wayside marker as part of the new Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tour, which is being developed as part of the ARC POWER Grant. Each panelist will contribute by discussing their role in researching the revolt, the importance of local collaboration with residents, tourism officials, and county leaders, and how these partnerships have been essential to the success of the initiative. 

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Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Transforming the Foundry: Planning the Resurrection and Reuse of an Historic but Contaminated Industrial Site
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 106B
Conveners: Tim Thornton and Jason Davis, Radford University
  • Wilma Dotson, Radford University
  • Jade Horton, Radford University
  • Leslie Pendleton, Radford University
  • Oli Sparks, Radford University
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Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Widows and Orphans: Four Appalachian Poets Explore Loss and Hope
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 114
Convener: Darnell Arnoult, Independent
  • Darnell Arnoult, Independent
  • Cathryn Hankla, Professor Emerita, Hollins University
  • Denton Loving, EastOver Press
  • Linda Parsons, Madville Publishing
Friday March 21, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Adolescence Meets Artificial Intelligence: The Need for Ethical, Practical Technology Use in the Classroom
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 108
Convener: Caroline Grugin, Tennessee Technological University
  • "The Need for Accessible Technology Tools in Adolescent Education," Nimotallahi Azeez, Tennessee Technological University
  • "Partnering with AI in the 8th Grade Classroom," Destiny Wannamaker, Tennessee Technological University
  • "Mental Imaging: How AI Image Generation Tools Can Support Reading Comprehension in Tennessee Middle School Classrooms," Caroline Grugin, Tennessee Technological University

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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Appalachia Rural Education and Queer Identities: Voices from Rural and (Out)Rooted
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 004
Convener: Clint Whitten, Virginia Tech
  • Clint Whitten, Virginia Tech
  • Amy Price Azano, Virginia Tech
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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Appalachian Disasters! ASA Special Collections Committee Disaster Response Resources
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 216
Convener: Savannah Bennett, Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University
  • Savannah Bennett, Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University
  • Katherine Everhart, University of Virginia - Wise
  • Michael Hatch, Southern Highland Craft Guild
  • Chad Hunter, Appalshop Archive
  • Kim Larmee, University of Virginia - Wise
  • Jeremy Smith, East Tennessee State University
  • Jack Swab, University of Tennessee
  • Jinny Turman, University of Virginia - Wise
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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Dark Skies in Appalachia Part 1: Literature, Poetry, and Place
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
BART 111
Convener: Elijah Prewitt-Davis, Mount St. Joseph University
  • "The Character of the Night Sky in Appalachian Literature," Jeff Bary, Colgate University
  • "The Nightly Reminder of a Place on Earth," Elijah Prewitt-Davis, Mount St. Joseph University
  • "Falling Down, Looking Up: Nightscapes in Robert Gipe’s Trampoline," Anna Creadick, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
  • "‘You, Darkness’: A Collaborative Project in Eco-Poetry, Art, and Astronomy at Berea College," Ansel Elkins, Berea College; Lie Ford, Berea College
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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Bartoo Hall

9:30am CDT

Memoir and Memoirists
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
BART 327
Convener: Chris Green, Berea College
• "Being Loyal: Some Notes on Editing Loyal Jones's Memoir," Chris Green, Berea College
• "My Mother’s Translator: Stories and Poems from an Affrilachian Migrant," E.J. Wade, Independent
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Bartoo Hall

9:30am CDT

Mountain Justice Summer 2005 — 20 Year Reflections
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 316
Convener: Dave Cooper, The Whippoorwill Festival - Skills for Earth-Friendly Living
  • Wendy Johnston, Librarian, Activist, Writer, and Historian
  • Dave Cooper, The Whippoorwill Festival - Skills for Earth-Friendly Living
  • Vernon Haltom, Coal River Mountain Watch
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Music and Musicians
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
FARR 201
Convener: Ted Olson, East Tennessee State University
  • "From China to Appalachia: Forging Sustainable Dynamics in Intercultural Music Collaboration and Cultural Diplomacy," Chao Tian, Boston University
  • "Embodied Appalachian Geography in the Wiggle Room," Kendall Loyer, Independent
  • "‘Seven Bridges Road': Singer-Songwriter Steve Young and the Power of Regional Identity," Ted Olson, East Tennessee State University

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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

New Directions in Twentieth Century Appalachian Labor History
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 304B
Convener: William Hal Gorby, West Virginia University
  • "Worker Perspectives in the 1977-78 Coal Strike," Christian Rowe, West Virginia University
  • "Digging the Hawk's Nest Tunnel: The Racial Construction of Disaster," Cat Harless, West Virginia University
  • "White Paper and Black Water: Environmental Control of Labor in Appalachian Paper Mill Communities," Matthew Powell, West Virginia University
  • "Patriotism and Patriarchy: Working Women at an Appalachian Paper Mill during World War II," Heidi Buchanan, Western Carolina University

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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

The Flooding in Appalachian Streams and Headwaters (FLASH) Initiative: Building and Sustaining Strong Transdisciplinary Partnerships to Foster Positive Change
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 205
Convener: Mary Brydon-Miller, University of Louisville
  • Mary Brydon-Miller, University of Louisville
  • D. Tyler Mahoney, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Louisville
  • Sheri McGuffin, Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation
  • Andrea Drayer, University of Kentucky Water Research Institute
  • Nathan Alexander, Kentucky Division of Water, Watershed Management Branch
  • Jason Immekus, University of Louisville
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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Tourism
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
BART 117
Convener: Audrey Nidiffer, Appalachian State University
• "Made for the Tourists: Searching for Sustainable, Economic Development in Sevier County, Tennessee," Mazdyn Miller, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• "‘Above it All’: A Rhetorical Analysis of Second-Home Billboards in Appalachia," Audrey Nidiffer, Appalachian State University
•  "The Black Appalachian Cultural Center: Building an African American Cultural Heritage Tourism Sector in Southern West Virginia," Cicero Fain III, Marshall University
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Bartoo Hall

9:30am CDT

Traditional & Independent Research in Smyth County, Virginia
Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HENDERSON HALL 307A
Convener: Matt Prater, Florida Atlantic University
  • "Institutions, ‘Intellectualism,’ and the Rural Citizen," Matt Prater, Florida Atlantic University
  • "Bridging the Research Divide: Democratic Access to Legal Knowledge in Rural America," Ryan Comer, Appalachian School of Law
  • "A Glimpse into the Past (Paleoart and Scientific Illustration in Southwest VA)," Cody Rex-Allen Stevenson, Independent
  • "On Research, Official and “Independent,” in the Life of an Appalachian Writer," Tracy Prater, Independent

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Friday March 21, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

1:00pm CDT

Featured Panel: “Latino Influence on Country Music"
Friday March 21, 2025 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
FARR 309
Friday March 21, 2025 1:00pm - 2:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

1:30pm CDT

Agricultural History and Science
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Farr 308
Convener: Brittany Beeker, Clemson University
• "Configuring an Agricultural Appalachia: Agrarian Rural Development in Central Appalachia from 1960s-Present," Natasha Shannon, UC Berkeley
• "Daily Light Integral I Implications in Appalachian Controlled Environment Agriculture," Casey Byrd, University of Kentucky
• "Agritech and Appalachia: Central Tensions in Industrial Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) as Economic Development," Jimmy Robinson, University of Kentucky
• "Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog: An Examination of Traditional Appalachian Dog Breeds and Purposes," Brittany Beeker, Clemson University
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

1:30pm CDT

All About Moonshine
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
BART 117
Convener: Caroline VerMeulen, Indiana University
• "Bottling Tradition: The Appalachian Imaginary and Craft Moonshine in Indiana," Caroline VerMeulen, Indiana University
• "Moonshine and the Environment," Arshiya Jeelani, University of Kentucky
• "Moonshine Cosmology," Emelie Peine, University of Puget Sound
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

1:30pm CDT

Exploring Appalachia through History, Performance, Belief, and Storytelling
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 307A
Convener: Mari Ramler, Tennessee Tech University
  • “Performing Appalachia: Identity Construction and Knowledge Production as Transformative Pedagogy,” Mari Ramler, Tennessee Tech University
  • “Believing Appalachia: Religion and Science as Dialectical Partners,” David Womack, University of Tennessee
  • “Embracing Co-Intelligence: Innovating the Creative Writing Process in Appalachian Storytelling through AI,” Heather Richmond, Tennessee Tech University
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Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

1:30pm CDT

Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Appalachia
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 004
Convener: Amelia Kirby, Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky
• "Devolution and the Restructuring of the Local State: A Case Study from Eastern Kentucky," Jack Norton, Governors State University
• "Violence Work in Appalachia: The Role of the Police in Perpetuating Fascism," angie luvara, Frostburg State University
• "Carceral Conjuncture: Prisons, Jails, and the Anti-Fascist Fight for Abolition in Central Appalachia," Judah Schept, Eastern Kentucky University
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

1:30pm CDT

Jappalachia: The Oft-Neglected Intersections Between Appalachia and Japan
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 216
Convener: Kennedy Alex Sloop, Appalachian State University
• "Haiku Appalachia: The Thematic Parallels of Wabi-Sabi in Japanese and Appalachian Literature," Kennedy Alex Sloop, Appalachian State University
• "Finding Furusato in Appalachia," Yoko Nogami, Independent
• "Making Jappalachian Music in 2024: Audibilities in Two Homes," Maako Shiratori, Duke University
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

1:30pm CDT

Jean Ritchie Memoir, Ron Rash Works by a Fiddler, Cultural Exchange Between Zuni Sacred Mountain and App State's Grandfather Mountain, and Live Music
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 108
Convener: Cecelia Conway, Appalachian State University
• "Jean Ritchie’s Singing Family of the Cumberlands," Sierra Focazio, Appalachian State University
• Grace Buckner, Appalachian State University
• Cecelia Conway, Appalachian State University
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

1:30pm CDT

Justice and Memory on the Landscape: Examples from Community Organizations in Kentucky
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Farr 305
Convener: Kathryn Engle, University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Sunup Corbin
• "Maps, Laws, and Memorial Sites: Updates from the Monument Workshop at the University of Kentucky," Rachel Noble-Varney, University of Kentucky College of Law; Mary Beth Forester, University of Kentucky College of Law
• "The Corbin Expulsion: A Story of Displacement and Resilience," Madison Thacker, University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Sunup Corbin; Kathryn Engle, University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Sunup Corbin
• "Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation: Railroads, Memory, and Economic Development in Estill County, Kentucky," Ren Kelley, University of Kentucky College of Social Work, Appalachian Center, Kentucky Steam Heritage Corps.; Joe Darby, Kentucky Steam Heritage Corps
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

1:30pm CDT

Schools and Health Care
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Farr 201A
Convener: Florence M Weierbach, East Tennessee State University
• "School Nurses in Central Appalachia: Tobacco and Health," Florence M Weierbach, East Tennessee State University; Rebecca Adkins Fletcher, East Tennessee State University; Jean Swindle, East Tennessee State University; Kendrea Todt, East Tennessee State University; Alisa Hearl, East Tennessee State University; Kelly Strickland, East Tennessee State University
• "Qigong in the Classroom: Addressing Student Mental Health in Southern Appalachia through Academic Standards and Physical Movement," Gary Padgett, University of North Alabama
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

1:30pm CDT

Student Health Coalition —Taking Measure of Student Activism, 50 Years Later: What is the Long-Term Impact of Short-Term Student Involvement and Service in Appalachia?
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
BART 111
Convener: Polly McArthur, Independent
  • "Reflections on Community-Based Partnerships as Students and Our Perspectives 50 Years Later," Nancy Raybin, Independent; Diane Lauver, Independent; Dale Strasser, Independent; Polly McArthur, Independent
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

1:30pm CDT

Teaching Appalachia Beyond Appalachia
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 214
Convener: Sarah Craycraft, Harvard University
• "Harvard’s ‘Hill Williams’: Appalachia’s Relevance to Ivy League Students and Scholars," Sarah Craycraft, Harvard University
• "Bridging Pedagogies from Latino and Appalachian Studies," Sophia Enriquez, Duke University
• "Appalachia/South in the Classroom: Environmental Storytelling and Regional Intersections," Jordan Lovejoy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• "Learning and Teaching through the Contradictions of ‘Traditional’ Craft at the John C. Campbell Folk School," Kelley Totten, Memorial University at Newfoundland
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

1:30pm CDT

What the Water Reveals and How We Heal
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 205
Convener: Erica Abrams Locklear, UNC Asheville
• Erica Abrams Locklear, UNC Asheville
• Meredith McCarroll, Independent
• Jim Minick, Independent
• Denali Nalamalapu, Independent
Friday March 21, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Academic Histories
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
HEND 114
Convener: James Leonard, Marshall University
• "History of the Geography Department at Marshall University (1837-2024)," James Leonard, Marshall University
• "The Development of Regional Private High Schools around 1900 into State Supported Institutions to Train Teachers in North Carolina," Doris Stam, Independent
• "‘African Student Grants Sought’: An Examination of Kenyan International Students at West Virginian HBCUs," Abigail Smith, Simmons University
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Academic Kinship: Reviving Appalachian Studies with Interdisciplinary Connection
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
HEND 316
Convener: April J. Asbury, Radford University and Highland Summer Conference
  • "Reviving the Highland Summer Conference," April J. Asbury, Radford University and Highland Summer Conference
  • "Appalachian Arts and Studies: Still in the Schools," Tim Thornton, Radford University
  • "Ain't Nothin' Wrong with Gettin' Too Big for Your Britches: Empowering Students of Appalachia through Education," Dan Woods, Radford University
RADFORD UNIVERSITY, ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBER SPONSORED SESSION. 

Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Appalachian Identity: Us
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
HEND 305
Convener: Joshua Cody Ward, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• "What’s Appalachia to Appalachia is Me: Exploring Black Identities and Experiences in Appalachian Virginia," Jacob Robinson, Virginia Tech
• "Articulating Appalachia," Joshua Cody Ward, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Appalachian Life in Fiction and Film
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Farr 201A
Convener: Monica Miller, Middle Georgia State University
· “Gen X and Appalachian Literature,” Monica Miller, Middle Georgia State University
· “Redheads in Water: Ron Rash’s The Cove and The Risen,” Sharon Colley, Middle Georgia State University
· “A Nation in Turmoil: How Silas House’s Eli the Good is an Elegy for America’s Current Political Culture War and its Effects on Familial Relationships,” Billy Wooten, Middle Georgia State University
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

3:00pm CDT

Film Studies
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 004
Convener: Lindsey Martin, Ohio University
• "Appalachian Gothic Film: The Threats from Within and Without," Walter Squire, Marshall University
• "Developing Authentic Stories through Rural Appalachian Settings: Strategies, Challenges, and Successes," Lindsey Martin, Ohio University
• "Blanket Town: The Rise and Fall of an American Mill Town," Rebecca Williams, Independent
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Imaginary Appalachia and the Assumed Rural Experience of the Appalachian Woman: Challenging the Idea of a Homogenous Female Experience in Appalachia
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Farr 106
Convener: Rachael Fortune, Independent
• "Icons Stuck in an Imaginary Appalachia: Exploring Representations of Rural Women in Pop Culture," Rachael Fortune, Independent
• "Herrenvolk Beats: Country Rap, the Alt-Right, and [Not So] Creeping Fascism," Paul Robertson, Marshall University
• "Paranormal Profits: Appalachia's Dark Folklore and its Effects on Tourism," Jaden Mullins, Tennessee Technological University
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

3:00pm CDT

Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Empowering Appalachian Communities
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
BART 327
Convener: Andrea Arce-Trigatti, Tennessee Tech University
  • Facilitator: Troy Smith, Tennessee Tech University
  • Pedro E. Arce, Tennessee Tech University
  • J. Robby Sanders, Tennessee Tech University
  • Dipendra Wagale, Tennessee Tech University
  • Jessee Griffiths, Tennessee Tech University
  • Diane Glasglow, City of Cookeville

Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

3:00pm CDT

Land & Livelihoods in Transition: Mapping Dispossession and Resistance
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
HEND 108
Convener: Kevin Slovinsky, LiKEN Knowledge
  • "A Martin County, KY Land Study: Contexts for a Large-Scale Solar Site," Kevin Slovinsky, LiKEN Knowledge; Karen Rignall, University of Kentucky; Jacob Johnson, University of Kentucky
  • "The Role of Land in (Resisting) Carceral Expansion," Lindsay Shade, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Sylvia Ryerson, Yale University
  • "Who Owns the Land? Prospects and Challenges of Forest Carbon Management for a Just Transition in Central Appalachia," Dylan Harris, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs
  • "Who Owns West Virginia? A New PART of Understanding Land Ownership," Zane Hornbeck-Buseman, West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation; Savannah Reese, West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation

Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Politics and Policy
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Farr 203
Convener:
• "The Scourge of Appalachian Nationalism: Unpacking, Disavowing, Redirecting," J. M. L. Whittington, University of Central Florida
• "The Politics of the Appalachian Story: Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide," Kristin Kanthak, University of Pittsburgh
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

3:00pm CDT

Recovering the History of Resistance to Slavery in Appalachia: The Greenup County Slave Revolt of 1829 and the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
HEND 304
Convener: Cicero M. Fain, III, Marshall University
· "Finding the Greenup County Slave Revolt in David Walker’s Appeal," Andrew Feight, Shawnee State University
· "Researching Slavery in Eastern Kentucky and the Mystery of Dinah's Execution," Marlitta Perkins, Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative
· "Thinking about the Greenup Slave Revolt in Terms of Environment," Chris Leadingham, University of Kentucky
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

3:00pm CDT

Rural Imaginary
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
FARR 106
Convener: Paul Robertson, Marshall University
  • Herrenvolk Beats: Country Rap, the Alt-Right, and [Not So] Creeping Fascism," Paul Robertson, Marshall University
  • "Paranormal Profits: Appalachia's Dark Folklore and its Effects on Tourism," Jaden Mullins, Tennessee Tech University.
Friday March 21, 2025 3:00pm - 4:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

4:30pm CDT

A Reading from Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel Volume 27: Appalachian Fusion
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
FARR 205
​​​​Convener: Sherry Cook Stanforth, Founder/Director of Originary Arts Initiative
  • Michael Henson
  • Wesley R. Bishop, Jacksonville State University, Alabama
  • Jeanne Bryner, Independent Artist
  • Pam Campbell, Independent Author
  • Teresa Cox, Independent Author
  • Hilda Downer, Independent Author
  • Pauletta Hansel, Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative
  • Jim Minick, Independent Writer/Farmer
  • Elaine Palencia, Independent Author
  • Linda Parsons, Independent Author and Editor
  • Gary Phillips, Former Poet Laureate of Carrboro, North Carolina
  • Amy Le Ann Richardson, Community Farm Alliance
  • Alissa Sammarco, Independent Author
  • Roberta Schultz, Independent Author
  • Sherry Cook Stanforth, Originary Arts Initiative
Dana Wildsmith, Lanier Technical College
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

4:30pm CDT

Appalachian Englishes
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
BART 111
Convener: Paul Reed, University of Alabama
• "The Mountain South Versus the Deep South — Surprising Similarities Between Two Storytellers from Each Region," Jeremiah Farmer, Clemson University
• "An Individual View of Appalachian Englishes: A Lifetime of Change," Paul Reed, University of Alabama
• "The Traditional “Grass” Vowel in Appalachian English," Bridget Anderson, Old Dominion University
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

4:30pm CDT

Appalachian Identity: New Media
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 214
Convener: Robert Ellison, Marshall University
  • "Upper Cumberland Blues: Podcasting and Autoethnography as Archive, Storytelling, and Counter-Narrative," Tony VanWinkle, Guilford College; Erin Eldridge, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  • "HillbillyTok: Storytelling, Counternarratives, & (Re)Constructing Identity on Social Media," Emily Colleen Cobb, Clemson University
  • "Reimagining Religion in WV: Encountering Underrepresented Faith Traditions through YouTube and Facebook Sermons," Robert Ellison, Marshall University
​​​
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

4:30pm CDT

Appalachian Identity: Others
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
HENDERSON HALL 114
Convener: Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand, Middle Tennessee State University
  • "The ‘Othering’ of Appalachia: The Exploitation of West Virginia," Kevin Murphy, Shepherd University
  • "Clean Workboots and Northern Banjos: White Country Aesthetics and Metronormative Politics," Hannah Krull, Independent
  • "Stereotyping Appalachia: Hillbillies, Serpent Handlers, and the Enduring Captivation of the Other," Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand, Middle Tennessee State University
  • "Evaluating Resilience Research in Appalachia through an Intersectional Lens: A Review," Mary Jo Hedrick, East Tennessee State University; Tess Simpson, Maryville College
​​​​
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

4:30pm CDT

Archiving and Storytelling
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
Farr 201A
Convener: Jessica Johnson, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• "Archiving as Activism in Appalachia," Jessica Johnson, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

4:30pm CDT

Celebrating and Sustaining Appalachian Foodways: AConversation with the 2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellows
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
FARR 203
Convener: Candace Mullins, Grow Appalachia
  • Marcus West, 2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellow
  • The New Opportunity School for Women – Sam Cole, 2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellow

Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

4:30pm CDT

Dark Skies in Appalachia Part II: People and the Sky
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
HEND 307A
Conveners: Jane Eastman and Brett H. Riggs, Western Carolina University
  • “Cornish Nocturnal Landscapes as Template for Preserving Night Skies,” MJ Sharp, Independent 
  • “The Sun and Horizon at Watauga,” Jane Eastman and Brett H. Riggs, Western Carolina University
  • “The Night Sky at Watauga,” Brett H. Riggs and Jane Eastman, Western Carolina University
  • “Roots in the Stars: Reconnecting Cherokee Heritage through Land and Sky,” Chi Shipman, Eastern Band Cherokee – EBCI; Madison Long, EBCI & Muskogee Creek
​​​​
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

4:30pm CDT

STEM Education
Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
HEND 304B
Convener: Beth Nardella, West Virginia University
  • "Exploring Teamwork and Communication in the BioFoundry Initiative Applied to Appalachian Communities," Dipendra Wagle, Tennessee Tech University; Andrea Arce-Trigatti, Tennessee Tech University; Pedro Arce, Tennessee Tech University; Robby Sanders, Tennessee Tech University
  • "Technology and Academic Progress: Do College Students from Appalachia Profile Differently?," Kristi Barnes, Marietta College
  • "The Development and Implementation of a Rural Health Curriculum for Undergraduates," Beth Nardella, West Virginia University

Friday March 21, 2025 4:30pm - 5:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall
 
Saturday, March 22
 

8:00am CDT

Appalachian Musicians and Influence
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
FARR 201A
Convener: Jim Clark, Barton College - Emeritus
  • "The Voices Behind a Voice: Tracing African American Influence in the Singing Style of Frank Proffitt," Olivia Phillips, Indiana University - Bloomington
  • "A Fiddlin' Fit: Frazier Moss, Master Fiddler of the Upper Cumberland," Jim Clark, Barton College - Emeritus

Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

8:00am CDT

Creating Change for Resilient Community Water Systems in Central Appalachia
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 214
Convener: Deborah J. Thompson, LiKEN Knowledge
  • "Creating Spaces of Mutual/Social Learning and Action, Undoing Entrenched Inequities through a Collaborative Research Project on Community Water Systems in Two Counties of Central Appalachia,” Maria Bareli, LiKEN Knowledge
  • “Water Inequalities and Extractive Developmental Pathways: Analyzing Water System Challenges in Two Central Appalachian Communities," Madison Mooney, LiKEN Knowledge
  • "Toolkits for Community Engagement and Water Resilience in the Face of Climate Change," McKensi Gilliam, LiKEN Knowledge
  • "Toolkits for Community Engagement and Water Resilience in the Face of Climate Change," Natasha Moore-Howell, LiKEN Knowledge
  • "LiKEN’s Theory of Change and Points of Leverage for Disrupting Vicious Cycles," Deborah J. Thompson, LiKEN Knowledge

Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Environmental Sciences
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
BART 117
Convener: Alexander Miele, LSU
  • "Geographic Variations in U.S. Natural Gas Pipeline Incidents: Misalignment Between Administrative Boundaries and the Appalachian Region," Jacob Hileman, West Virginia University
  • "Linking Streamflow Trends with Land Cover in a Southern USA Water Tower," Alexander Miele, LSU
  • "Sustainable Methodologies for Degradation of PET-based Microplastics along the Tennessee River," Kyle Murphy, Tennessee Tech University

Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Bartoo Hall

8:00am CDT

Faith Histories
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
BART 307
Convener: Summer King, University of Mississippi
  • "The Potential of Religion in Appalachian Sustainability Transitions: The Case of Bethlehem Farm," Julius Malin, University of Basel
  • "Hearing from Our Own Home: Reading the Pastoral Letters of Catholic Committee of Appalachia as a Model for Synodality," Abigail Rosys, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry
  • "He Shall Take Up Serpents: The Spread of Pentecostal Snake Handling through Southern Appalachia, 1909-1932," Summer King, University of Mississippi

Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Bartoo Hall

8:00am CDT

Folklore
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 305
Convener: Rebecca Proffitt, East Tennessee State University, Reece Museum
  • "Ritual Remembrance: Material Culture as Historical Document," Rebecca Proffitt, East Tennessee State University, Reece Museum
  • "Captivity, Myth, and Memory: Examining the Origins and Cultural Significance of Hungry Mother State Park," Elise Johnson, Appalachian State University
  • "‘Around the Old Ore Knob Today’: Exploring Labor, Environment, and Memory in a Western North Carolina Ballad," Trevor McKenzie, Appalachian State University

Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Future Places
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
BART 111
Convener: Marti Wagnon, Virginia Tech
  • "'This Place Knows How to Dream': King Coal as Thirdspace Vision of Appalachia's Future," William Nash, Middlebury College
  • "Between Heaven & the High Country: Constructing Religious Space in the Southern Appalachian Landscape," Ella Adams, Appalachian State University
  • "Beyond the Tall, Tall Trees: Reimagining Technology, Digital Literacy, and the Physical Landscape of Rural Appalachia," Marti Wagnon, Virginia Tech
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Bartoo Hall

8:00am CDT

Gas Build Outs in the Tennessee River Valley: A Continuing of Exploitation of People and Land in Appalachia
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 114
Convener and Presenter: Brig Ortner, SAGE TN
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Leveling the Playing Field: To be Heard and Seen
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 004
Convener: Cat Pleska, Marshall University
  • "I'll Always Be That Georgia Girl: Burn," Sara Henning, Marshall University
  • "She is Among so Many Silent Heroes," Cat Pleska, Marshall University
  • "Billie Lee," Nathan Rucker, Marshall University

Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Sites of Memory: History, Storytelling, and Undermining the Erasure of BIPOC in Northern Appalachia
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
HEND 304B
Convener: Kenton Butcher, Bucknell University
  • "Outside the Mainstream: Black Self-Publishing in Appalachian Ohio," Kenton Butcher, Bucknell University
  • "‘Eww, these apples suck, de donde son?’: Latinx Storytelling in Rural Pennsylvania," Elena Perez-Zetune, University of Texas at Austin/Bucknell University
  • "Race and Reputation: Black Appalachian Soldiers in the United States Colored Troops," Alexandra Finley, University of Pittsburgh
​​​​
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
Henderson Hall

8:00am CDT

Women’s History
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
FARR 203
Convener: Allen Fletcher, University of Kentucky
  • "Beyond ‘Fotched-On’ Women: School Reform and Gendered Politics in Progressive Era Appalachia," Allen Fletcher, University of Kentucky
  • "Schooling Us: Generations of Educating Appalachian Women," Leslie Cook, Appalachian State University
  • "Carrie Buck and the Ongoing Fight for Reproductive Freedom," Karen Spears Zacharias, Independent
  • "Recipes and Remedies of Rural Appalachian Midwives and Families: Examination through the Lens of Racism and A Superstitious Belief System," Kristen Montgomery, East Tennessee State University
SPONSORED BY TENNESSEE TECH WOMEN’S CENTER
Saturday March 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

Affrilachia: Testimonies - A Visual, Poetic, and Historical Journey through Southern Appalachia's Black Communities
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
FARR 308
Convener: Maia A. Surdam, Partnership for Appalachian Girls' Education
  • Chris Aluka Berry, Independent
  • Kelly Elaine Navies, Independent
  • Maia A. Surdam, Partnership for Appalachian Girls' Education

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

Appalachian Health Disparities are a Local Expression of Global Worsening of Health Disparities
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HEND 304B
Convener: Robert Miller, Mayo Clinic
  • "Worsening Disparities in Cancer Outcomes in Appalachian Eastern Kentucky," Robert Miller, Mayo Clinic; Kennedy Sabharwal, University of Kentucky College of Medicine
  • "Disparity as a Manifestation of Environmental Destruction: The Impact of Mineral Extraction on Cancer Care Across the Globe," Elijah Baker, Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee
  • "Excess Smoking Related Cancer Deaths in Eastern Kentucky Continue to Persist Despite Improving Survival Rates Elsewhere in The United States," Lauren Slone, Asbury University; Robert Miller, Mayo Clinic

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Appalachian Queer Pedagogy as Space of Resistance and Resilience: Creativity, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent in Rural Spaces
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HEND 114
Convener: Clint Whitten, Virginia Tech
  • Clint Whitten, Virginia Tech
  • Josh Thompson, Virginia Tech
  • Amy Price Azano, Virginia Tech
  • Daniel Vandeberg, Roanoke City Public Schools
  • Justin Smith, Farm to Feed (Nonprofit)

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Art: Retrospectives
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
FARR 305
Convener: Joy Gritton, Morehead State University
  • "A Retrospective of the Art of Bonita Skaggs-Parsons," Joy Gritton, Morehead State University
  • "Sullivan’s Universe: Appalachian Folk Culture, Art, and Infinite Systems of Worlds and Wonders," Ali Printz, Temple University/Smithsonian American Art Museum
  • "Quilting for Community Recovery: A Trauma-Informed Textile Mapping Approach for Post-Hurricane Appalachia," Fabio Andres Tellez, North Carolina State University; Isabel Arteaga-Arredondo, Universidad de los Andes (Bogota, Colombia)
  • "‘Everything is different, but it’s all the Same’; Arts-Based Graduate Projects After Helene," Robert McCormac, Indiana University; Matt Groce, Wake Forest University
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

Carceral States and Criminality
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
FARR 309
Convener: William Hal Gorby, West Virginia University
  • "Addressing the Problems at Moundsville: The Expansion of West Virginia's Corrections System During a Period of Economic Restructuring," William Hal Gorby, West Virginia University
  • "Of Prisons and Place: Abolition & Education in Appalachia," Meghan Moore-Hubbard, Clemson University
  • "Constructing ‘Legality’: Comparing and Contrasting the Evolution and Economic and Cultural Legitimization of Appalachian Moonshiners and the Mexican Cartels," Lucy Coleman, Appalachian State University
  • "The History of Opioids in Appalachia: Just What the Doctor Ordered, Cultural Rebellion, or State-Corporate Crime?" Carl Root, Eastern Kentucky University

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

College Transitions
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
BART 117
Convener: Africa Hands, University at Buffalo
  • "‘My Grandmother Recommended I Apply’: College Information Seeking among Appalachian Students," Africa Hands, University at Buffalo
  • "Rank Strangers: Using Liminality to Conceptualize College Transition for Rural Appalachian Students," David Adams, University of Cincinnati
  • "The Influences That Facilitate the Development of a Sense of Calling among Undergraduate Women Raised and Educated in Appalachia," Lindsay Monihen, Shawnee State University

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Bartoo Hall

9:30am CDT

Gender and Other Intersections
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
FARR 203
Convener: Thomas Alan Holmes, East Tennessee State University
  • "Trans Banjos and Gay Guitars: LGBTQ+ Resilience in Contemporary Appalachian Music" Cassie Dawn Ball, Graduate Center, City University of New York
  • "‘Here I Am’: The Prosthetic Memory of Dolly Parton in Dumplin," Travis Rountree, Western Carolina University
  • "Discussing and Confronting Stereotypes: Narratives of Appalachian Fathers," Aran Garnett-Deakin, Virginia Tech
  • "‘Oh, that I Could Have Lived Like I Wanted to—’: A Small-Town Diarist's Isolation," Thomas Alan Holmes, East Tennessee State University
SPONSORED BY TENNESSEE TECH WOMEN’S CENTER.
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

Literary Outsiders and Canon-Making
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
FARR 106
Convener: Matthew D. Sutton, Morehead State University
  • "The Rhetoric of Subversion in Mountain Path by Harriette Simpson Arnow," Gisele Sigal, Pau University - UPPA - France
  • "Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!: The Great Lost Appalachian Novel?," Matthew D. Sutton, Morehead State University

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

9:30am CDT

Pipelines, Pathways, and Potential: Workforce Development as a Positive Force for Thriving People and Communities in Appalachia
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HEND 214
Convener: Maribeth Saleem-Tanner, High Rocks
  • "Introduction to the High Rocks Theory of Change," Maribeth Saleem-Tanner, High Rocks

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

9:30am CDT

Power of Stories
Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
HEND 216
Convener: Karen Spears Zacharias, Independent
  • "The Devil's Pulpit and Other Mostly True Scottish Misadventures," E.J. Wade, Independent; Karen Spears Zacharias, Independent
  • “Muriel Rukeyser’s Book of the Dead and the Discourse of Disaster in Appalachia,” Jeannie Dalporto, University of Charleston
  • “Tell Me about Your Bad Guys: Fathering in Anxious Times,” Michael Dowdy, Villanova University
  • "Acorns and Atoms: Nuclear Weapons, Exploitation, and Erasure in Appalachia," Emily Strasser, Tufts University

Saturday March 22, 2025 9:30am - 10:45am CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

Appalachian Community
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
HEND 106B
Convener: Vonnia Davis, Independent
  • "Monuments in Black Appalachia: Community Engagement for Memory and Growth," Gregory Galford, Virginia Tech; Vonnia Davis, Independent
  • "There Was a Solid Community Here: The Development and Effects of Huntington, West Virginia’s Segregated Public Housing, 1938-1950," Jillian Kendall, West Virginia University

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

Appalachian Music
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
HEND 304B
Convener: Randal Williams, Tennessee Tech University
  • "Authenticity Meets the Sacred and Profane: Focus on Country Music," James Akenson, Tennessee Tech University; Randal Williams, Tennessee Tech University

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

Art: Community Legacies
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
FARR 203
Convener: Katie Rodriguez, Appalachian State University
  • "Breaking the Mold: Clarifying Indigenous Appalachian Identities along the Upper New River," Katie Rodriguez, Appalachian State University
  • "Land Art in Appalachia: Maya Lin’s Open-Air Peace Chapel (1988-89) and Input (2004)," Heather Stark, Marshall University
  • "Public Art and Critical Literacies of Place: The Case of the Petrila Coal Mine in Romania’s Jiu Valley," Kai A. Schafft, Penn State University (co-authors, non-presenting, Iulia Salca, Transilvania University of Brasov, and Emelie Peine, University of Puget Sound)

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

11:00am CDT

Authors-Meet-Critics: Power and Just Transition: The Struggle for a Post-Coal Future in an Appalachian Valley
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
FARR 106
Convener: Gabe Schwartzman, University of Tennessee
Presenters:
  • Barbara Ellen Smith, Emerita
  • Philip Lewin, Florida Atlantic University
  • Rebecca Scott, University of Missouri
  • Cathy Kunkel, Independent
Authors’ Response 
  • John Gaventa, Institute for Development Studies
  • Gabe Schwartzman, University of Tennessee

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

11:00am CDT

Constructions of Whiteness
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
FARR 305
Convener: Meghan Moore-Hubbard, Clemson University
  • "Rural Appalachian Social Studies Teachers Grappling with Whiteness," Meghan Moore-Hubbard, Clemson University
"Flotilla: Interrogating My White Ancestry," Melissa Helton, Hindman Settlement School
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

11:00am CDT

Gender, Race, and Appalachia
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
FARR 307A
Convener: Alana Anton, Radford University
  • "In Search of the Woman Robert Burns Plagiarized," E.J. Wade, Independent; Karen Spears Zacharias, Independent
  • "Exploring Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in Appalachia," Alana Anton, Radford University

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

11:00am CDT

Health Outcomes
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
BART 117
Convener: Michelle Roberts, University of Kentucky
  • "Insuring Health, Ensuring Limits: A Praxiographic Approach to Health Insurance and Care Delivery for People with Disabilities in Appalachian Kentucky," Michelle Roberts, University of Kentucky
  • "Diabetes Fatalism in Appalachia: A Concept Analysis," Karen Carver, East Tennessee State University
  • "‘It’s Generational Trauma’: The Importance of Historically Contextualizing Drug-Related Suffering Amongst Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Appalachian North Georgia," Anna Mullany, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

11:00am CDT

Historic Events
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
HEND 316
Convener: Carson Benn, Lincoln Memorial University
  • "Nixon in the Mountains: A History of Twentieth-Century Conservatism through Two Kentucky Visits," Carson Benn, Lincoln Memorial University
  • "The Tennessee Valley Authority v. Appalachia: Exploring the Complicated and Exploitive History of the Tennessee Valley Authority within East Tennessee and Beyond," Madeleine Howe, University of Tennessee Knoxville
  • "To Be a Good Soldier, Citizen, and Patriot: How Southern Military Tradition at UNG Upheld the Lost Cause in Post-Civil War Appalachia," Ariana Mohr, University of North Georgia

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

History and Higher Education
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
FARR 205
Convener: Douglas Sturgeon, Shawnee State University
  • "Remembering Mountain State College in Parkersburg WV," Douglas Sturgeon, Shawnee State University; Karen Koehler, Shawnee State University

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

11:00am CDT

Knowledge Access
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
HEND 216
Convener: Kathryn Wisinger, Putnam County Library
  • "Johnson's Unfulfilled Promise: Accessibility to Higher Education in Appalachia during the War on Poverty," Zoe Davin, Connecticut College
  • "Rural Libraries and Their Influence in Appalachian Communities," Kathryn Wisinger, Putnam County Library
  • "Cyber Possibilities: Making Higher Education Accessible for Rural Appalachian Students," Kristen LeFevers, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

Perspectives on Appalachia with the University Press of Kentucky
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
BART 327
Convener: Laura Leigh Morris, Furman University
Reading and Discussions with:
  • Laura Leigh Morris, Furman University
  • Chris Aluka Berry, Aluka Stories
  • Kelly Elaine Navies, Independent
  • Karen Salyer McElmurray, Spalding University
  • Rae Garringer, Country Queers

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

11:00am CDT

Pop Culture: Representation
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
HEND 114
Convener: J. M. L. Whittington, University of Central Florida
  • "Navigating the History and Evolution of Professional Wrestling in Appalachia," Caleb Brown, Appalachian State University
  • "From Carpet Capital to Soccer Town USA: ‘Monday Night Fútbol’ in Dalton, Georgia," Michael Dowdy, Villanova University
  • "Introducing Appalachian Game Studies: Fallout 76, Imaginative Geography, and Extractive Tourism," J. M. L. Whittington, University of Central Florida

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

Re-writing the Appalachian Family: Households of Necessity, Households of Choice
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
HEND 004
Convener: Doug Van Gundy, West Virginia Wesleyan College
  • Doug Van Gundy, West Virginia Wesleyan College
  • Jamey Temple, University of the Cumberlands
  • Sara Henning, Marshall University

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Henderson Hall

11:00am CDT

Youth Engagement
Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
FARR 201A
Convener: Newlin Humphrey, University of Alabama
  • "Battling Brain Drain: Perspectives of Public Library Youth Engagement in Rural Southern and South Central Appalachia," Newlin Humphrey, University of Alabama; Griffin Anderson, University of Alabama

Saturday March 22, 2025 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Literature: Genre and Style
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
BART 117
Convener: Moriah Silvers, University of Georgia
  • "New Critical Edition of Appalachian Novel This Day and Time by Anne W. Armstrong," Linda Behrend, Independent
  • "A Genre Reimagined: An Exploration of Rhetorical Style in Contemporary Appalachian Literature," Moriah Silvers, University of Georgia
  • "A Hotel Perched on a Hill: The Grove Park Inn in Recent Appalachian Fiction," Jimmy Dean Smith, Union Commonwealth University

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 2:45pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

2:30pm CDT

Community Legacies
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
HEND 216
Convener: Kopana Terry, University of Kentucky
  • "Peck’s Addition Revisited: Exploring Southwestern Ohio’s Appalachian Legacy through Public History," Matthew Smith, Miami University-Hamilton; Ashley Hopkins, Miami University-Hamilton
  • "Invisible Appalachia," Kopana Terry, University of Kentucky

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

2:30pm CDT

Death Traditions
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
HEND 214
Convener: Clint Whitten, Virginia Tech
  • "Cemetery Language in Western North Carolina," Bridget Anderson, Old Dominion University; Craig Winkelmann, Independent
  • "Appalachian Cultural Traditions Regarding Death, Dying, and Funerals," Adeline Rosenberger, University of North Georgia

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

2:30pm CDT

Disaster
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
FARR 309
Convener: Caleb Brown, Appalachian State University
  • "Possibilities and Challenges of Rural Disaster Response and Relief," Erin Eldridge, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Seth Hawkins, Wake Forest University
  • "Applying Environmental Justice Lessons from Non-Appalachian Natural Disasters to the Appalachian Context," Caleb Brown, Appalachian State University
  • "The Role of Public Educators in Climate Related Disaster Resilience: A Literature Review," Adam Jordan, College of Charleston; Kasey Jordan, College of Charleston
  • "Interacting Disasters: A Western North Carolina Case Study," Megan E. Hall, University of Kentucky

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Displacement
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
HEND 305
Convener: Katherine Everhart, UVA Wise
  • "Rural Displacement: Public Housing in Rural Southwest Virginia," Anngel Gallihar, UVA Wise; Katherine Everhart, UVA Wise
  • "Remember Me: Addressing Displacement and Collective Trauma Following the Construction of Fontana Lake," Ryan Floyd, Lander University
  • "The Death of the Hillbilly Ghetto?," Michael Maloney, University of Cincinnati

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

2:30pm CDT

Ecocriticism
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
FARR 203
Convener: Catherine Wilbur, University of Charleston
  • "Louise McNeill, Paradox Hill: From Appalachia to Lunar Shores," Catherine Wilbur, University of Charleston
  • "‘Insane and Acceptable all the Time and all the While, Hainted’: Postnatural Travel Narratives at the End of the World," Shelby Roberts, University of Kentucky
  • "...If the Crick Don’t Rise: Ann Pancake’s and Barbara Kingsolver’s Speculations of Flood Catastrophe Amid the Anthropocene," Danara Wallace, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Education: Resources
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
FARR 308
Convener: Megan Krupa, East Tennessee State University
  • "Developing Multidisciplinary Teachers: Mentoring Pre-Service Teachers in Southern Appalachia," Hongxia Zhao, University of North Alabama; Gary Padgett, University of North Alabama
  • "Narrative(s) of Appalachia: A Poststructuralist Examination of English Education Practices in a Southern Appalachian School District," Megan Krupa, East Tennessee State University
  • "Appalachian Dialects as a Tool for Student Engagement," Jenny Crisp, Dalton State College

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Labor
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
HEND 108
Convener: Meghan Moore-Hubbard, Clemson University
  • "Mountain Mothers, Summer Gardens, and 100 Years of West Virginian Food Preservation," Sarah Trautwein, Marshall University
  • "Whose Labor History?: A Counterstory of Labor History in Appalachia," Meghan Moore-Hubbard, Clemson University; Brandon Beck, Clemson University
  • "‘Come to Me, All You Who Labor, and I Will Give You Rest’: Post-Coal Industrial Identity in Appalachia as Shown through the Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial," Jane M. Harris, Independent

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Henderson Hall

2:30pm CDT

Mining Perspectives
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
BART 307
Convener: Barry Whittemore, University of North Georgia
  • "An Historical Perspective on Mining in the Southern Appalachians and its Effects," Barry Whittemore, University of North Georgia
  • "Health and Extractivism in Central Appalachia," Meghan Albritton, Virginia Tech
  • "Stories from the Mines: Historical Memories of Westmoreland Coal," Adam Dean, Lincoln Memorial University; Stephanie Holyfield, Lincoln Memorial University
  • "The Social Lives of Energy Regimes," Nadia Smiecinska, UC Davis

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Bartoo Hall

2:30pm CDT

Nature and the Economy
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
FARR 305
Convener: Tom Hansell, Appalachian State University
  • "El Corazon del Arbol de Navidad (The Heart of the Christmas Tree)," Tom Hansell, Appalachian State University; Yolanda Adams, Appalachian State University

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Pedagogy: Approaches
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
FARR 201A
Convener: Ada Haynes, Tennessee Tech University
  • "Uplifting Appalachia-Exploring a Place-Based Pedagogy that Integrates Critical Thinking and Foundry-Guided Approaches," Ada Haynes, Tennessee Tech University; Andrea Arce-Trigatti, Tennessee Tech University; Gideon Eduah, Tennessee Tech University; Anna Doralies, Tennessee Tech University
  • "‘I was Appalachian Before it Was Even a Thing’: Raising Appalachian Awareness in Older Than Average Students," Henry Wilson, Independent
  • "Memoir Writing in English Composition=Power through Connection," Jill Anderson, Washington State College of Ohio

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Psychology
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
FARR 307A
Convener: Mary Jo Hedrick, East Tennessee State University
  • "Low-Cost Intentional Inclusionary Practices?: Evaluating Effectiveness of Recruiting Appalachian Caregivers for a Developmentally Focused Psychological Study," Tess Simpson, Maryville College; Mary Jo Hedrick, East Tennessee State University

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
T.J. Farr Hall 11 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, Tennessee, United States

2:30pm CDT

Writers of Appalachia
Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
BART 327
Convener: Sylvia Shurbutt, Shepherd University, Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities
  • "Changing Landscapes, Changing Scholarly Approaches: The Work of Robert Gipe," Peter Thompson, University of New Brunswick; Timothy Di Leo Browne, Carleton University
  • "Historical Remembrance & Appalachian Identity in Ron Rash's The World Made Straight," Grace Buckner, Appalachian State University
  • "Fluidity and Found Family in Carter Sickels’ The Prettiest Star," Atticus Mason, University of North Carolina at Asheville
  • "Poetry All Around Us: The Work of West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman," Sylvia Shurbutt, Shepherd University, Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities

Saturday March 22, 2025 2:30pm - 3:45pm CDT
Bartoo Hall
 
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