I feel like the Donehower discussion
used the reading as not merely a focus but a springboard for a wider
conversation, which is great. I am firmly of the opinion that
neglecting Appalachia at Ohio University is not productive or healthy
for either the university or the surroundings, for reasons that
Donehower indicates in her critique of America's uncritical
acceptance of rural stereotypes. Such stereotypes, like resentment,
breed best in silence. (Although, speaking of the wider conversation, I found a
recipe for Apple Pie, should anyone be interested...)
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| Old Appalachian Ohio |
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| New Appalachian Ohio |
We discussed Donehower's concept of
Appalachia's definition as a separate entity among other American
regions, a separation underscored (perhaps even largely created) by
the establishment of the Appalachian Regional Commission. It might be
relevant to this discussion, as well as considerations of how
Appalachia gets defined, to note that Ohio's “official”
Appalachian region now stretches to the top right corner of the
state, taking in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Ashtabula Counties. I'm told the reason why these counties are now counted by the commission (as
they weren't always), is apparently due in part to Youngstown's active
lobbying to be granted Appalachian status, not necessarily for
cultural reasons, but in order to gain access to government grants
earmarked for Appalachia. The rumor is that Akron (Summit County) is
currently lobbying for similar status. I can't decide if I'm amused
or disheartened by the idea of counties actively trying to achieve
Appalachian status, given the reasoning behind it. Thoughts?
It's kind of sad, but can you blame them if badly needed funds are at stake? Still, there is something absurd about it. Perhaps it is more an indication of desperate times and opportunism than any sense of cultural identification.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I missed this discussion Amanda. I took my M.A. from Morehead State University, in Eastern Kentucky, and there seemed to be more awareness and discussion of Apallachian identities and concerns there. For example, the Center for Virtual Appalachia: http://cva.moreheadstate.edu/. I'm not sure why there is this neglect of Appalachia and Ohio University, but student populations at Morehead State were much more regional- In fact, many of them commuted- much like a community college. Furthermore, the tuition at Morehead State was much more in line with a community college. So perhaps the economic class of student population has something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteI am very familiar with Morehead since I attended more than a few band clinics there! I totally agree with the difference in student population as a reason for less awareness of Appalachia at Ohio University. Plus, more students at Morehead are from Appalachia (as opposed to more upper/middle class students at OU). The same goes for Eastern Kentucky University, where I received my B.A.
DeleteAmanda, I really enjoyed this article and I thought the conversation surrounding it was fascinating, as is Appalachian culture. I personally struggle with a desire to hear your Appalachian perspective on these barriers and harmful (although sometimes prideful) stereotypes and an awareness of tokenizing your experience, which happens for me as the appointed "queer" representative in some of my classes.
ReplyDeleteI used to work at a college that was located on an Indian reservation, and the connections between the Anishinaabe tribal culture and that of Appalachian folks are striking, as are the tensions they face as they face education and the ideological/critical impositions they pose (similar to those Shen speaks of). Both groups are often painted with sweeping brush strokes of poverty (despite government checks), drinking, low levels of literacy, improper speech patterns (and sentence structure), children out of wedlock, and laziness (and, of course, there are plenty of people who apply for Native status so they gain access to grants and tribe checks). I'm sure a conversation between the two groups would be amazing -- especially considering the shared history of song and storytelling. The tribe, along with Central Michigan University, hosted The Michigan Story Festival where people of different cultures came together to share stories; how awesome would that be here?! It seems there are many stories, hidden deep in the mountains, waiting to be told (or maybe they are meant to be kept secret?).
I'm so glad you brought up the "tokenizing" of experiences! I feel like this happens a lot, especially to those with identifiable accents, experiences, and history. Part of the reason I've tried so hard to suppress them! I'm recently coming to a place where I can open up about my Appalachian history, which is great. But part of the reason I am silent in the first place is because my family moved away from the region after the sudden death of my grandfather- I don't think any of us plan to return because of painful memories. So I don't think my experiences in silence about my heritage are indicative of most people's experiences. I think talking about it is healing, though, so I'm glad we've had productive discussions :)
DeleteI think the stories of the mountains are definitely meant to be told rather than kept secret, but told by the right person, at the right time, in the right way.
You can ask me anything you want to about my experience; like I've said, I'm just tickled to be an expert on something. On the other hand, I know my experience doesn't reflect Appalachia in any encompassing way--part of the discussion I really liked was talking about the differences even within the region. But like I said, I'm always happy to talk about my own little neck of the woods. (Which is not an expression with me; I really do live in the woods. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get a chance, you should check out the storyteller/ballad singer Shiela Kay Adams. She's from North Carolina, and she can remember local colleges hosting "Round Robins" in which the (mostly elderly) ballad singers would actually come on campus for singing sessions. I love this idea. I don't know how something like that would play here, but I don't know that we'll ever get the chance to find out. Speaking of Native American cultures, there has been some discussion of whether "Appalachian" culture is largely an outgrowth of (predominantly) Cherokee culture, given the close geographical proximity and frequent intermarriage. The writer Marilou Awiakta talks a lot about Appalachia as a uniquely Cherokee-Celtic cultural space, which is an interesting idea. Again, the region is too vast and diverse for any blanket assertions, but I'm intrigued by the possibility of traceable, connecting cultural threads.
Hillery and Amanda,
ReplyDeleteSpeaking to both of your observations re: Native American culture and links with Appalachia, I thought it might be cool to bring in some of the information on Melungeon heritage that came up briefly during the Donehower discussion last week. Here is a basic wikipedia entry for those not at all familiar with this term (though I think there is much that might be considered questionable in here):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melungeon
And, more interesting perhaps, here is a link to the Melungeon Heritage Association website (where you can find links to articles, genealogies, photo archives, etc):
http://melungeon.ning.com/
I think one of the interesting things about Melungeon identity in connection with Appalachia is the kind of pride in indeterminate ("tri-racial" or "poly-racial") racial identity integral to it. I was also struck by the similarities between the queer archives that we talked about during Hillery's discussion (Alexander and Rhodes) and the Melungeon archive that essentially comprises the Melungeon Heritage Association's website--one that explores both myth and fact surrounding racial/cultural identity in an attempt to disrupt prevailing stereotypes and stigmas.
Can't remember if you said that you were familiar with any of these studies, Amanda, but I thought it was worth bringing them into the conversation.
J