Confronting Stereotypes:Appalachia

Tara HannumC&I 689

Summer Session

Welcome to

What is considered to be Appalachia-

The Appalachian Region includes all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The Region is home to more than 25 million people and covers 420 counties and almost 205,000 square miles.

Where is Appalachia?

Appalachia

Different Subregions

These subregions were developed by the Appalachian Regional Commission as a basis for analysis. The creation of the five subregions on this map were completed in 2009 for the purposes of generating more detailed research. This map is based on current economic and transportation data. The Appalachian subregions are contiguous regions of relatively homogeneous characteristics (topography, demographics, and economics) within Appalachia.

What Makes this Region Different than other areas in

the U.S?

Its HistoryAnd

Statistics

History

Education Statistics

Percent of Working-Age Adults (Ages 25 to 64) With a

Bachelor's Degree or More, by Appalachian County Type, 2006-2010

Educational Attainment

Learning Opportunity

America’s Favorite Joke is Anything but Funny:Why are jokes and stereotypical portrayals of

Appalachians acceptable?

Ask students what they know about

Appalachia and the people that live there? What are they using as a basis for this

“knowledge”?

Fact vs. Fiction

Is it Appalachian Culture or a Stereotype?

1. Individualism, Self-Reliance, Pride - most obvious characteristics; necessary on the early frontier; look after oneself; solitude; freedom; do things for oneself; not wanting to be beholding to others; make do

2. Religion - values and meaning to life spring from religious sources; fatalistic (outside factors control one's life, fate, believe things happen for a reason and will work out for the best); sustains people in hard times

3. Neighborliness and Hospitality - help each other out, but suspicious of strangers; spontaneous to invite people for a meal, to spend the night, etc.

4. Family Solidarity or Familism - family centered; loyalty runs deep; responsibility may extend beyond immediate family; "blood is thicker than water"

5. Personalism - relates well to others; go to great lengths to keep from offending others; getting along is more important than letting one's feelings be known; think in terms of persons rather than degrees or professional reputations

6. Love of Place - never forget "back home" and go there as often as possible; revitalizing, especially if a migrant; sometimes stay in places where there is no hope of maintaining decent lives

7. Modesty and Being Oneself - believe one should not put on airs; be oneself, not a phony; don't pretend to be something you're not or be boastful; don't get above your raising

8. Sense of Beauty - displayed through folksongs, poems, arts, crafts, etc., colorful language metaphors, e.g. "I'm as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs."

9. Sense of Humor - seem dour, but laugh at ourselves; do not appreciate being laughed at; humor sustains people in hard times

10. Patriotism - goes back to Civil War times; flag, land, relationships are important; shows up in community celebration and festivals

10 Common Characteristics of Appalachia

Positive attributes associated with Appalachian

Culture emphasize perceived traditional community values—a strong commitment to land, kin, and religious beliefs, an emphasis on self-rule and social equality, and patriotism.

What are the negative characteristics associated with the people living in Appalachia?

Appalachian Culture

Stereotypes

Stereotypes

Stereotypes

“On the one hand, Appalachian culture has been viewed by Americans as backward, incestuous, isolated, and poverty-stricken. Billings (1999, p. 6) referred to this view as "a traumatized culture where withdrawal, depression, inertia, self-blame and resignation rule." On the other hand, Appalachian people have also been romanticized as "'strong women, noble African Americans, and virtuous Indians' and 'a fierce and solitary people' (p. 10). Witness the differing worlds of Deliverance and Andy Griffith (Herzog, 2004).”

For a quick explanation on this dichotomy, read:http://paws.wcu.edu/mherzog/AppalachiaPresentation.htm

For a more in depth introduction to this topic, read:Billings, D., Norman, G., & Ledford, K. (Eds.) (1999). Confronting Appalachian stereotypes. Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

FLkc6LJmtNs

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/

appalachian-emergency-room/1388531/

Appalachia in Popular Culture

"Is it pronounced "Ap-uh-lay-chuh" or "Ap-uh-

lach-uh?” Those outside the region use the former Those inside the region use the latter.

Learning Opportunity

Dialects

In an article for the Smoky Mountain News,

Gary Carden recalls the words of his own grandmother: “Every time you open your mouth, you will be weighed and found wanting.” Her message is clear: every time you speak in this dialect, people will immediately take stock of you, your intelligence, your integrity, your manners, and will conclude that you, as an Appalachian, are backward and inferior (Chapman, 2009).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03iwAY4KlIU

The Appalachian Dialect

The United States is a vast country with many

different cultures living within its borders. Often the manner in which someone talks or the words they choose can offer assistance in determining what region of the country or what culture someone was raised.

Dialects are fundamental to our identity and our community’s identity.

There are many stereotypes associated with dialects.

Lesson

This lesson is designed to teach students to

appreciate the differences in dialects and understand that a particular dialect does not indicate prejudice or intelligence.

Use the following links for an explanation of American dialects and their origins. http

://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/test3materials/AmericanDialects.htm

http://robertspage.com/dialects.html

Lesson

For a fun and interactive classroom (or at home)

experiment, have students take a dialect quiz. Here are some options (these are not scientific and are

missing many of the less common dialects). http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoy

ouspeakquiz/

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have *

Ask students if they can identify different regional dialects. Have students take this quiz from PBS

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/map/map.html

Lesson

Ask Students about their own experiences

Ask students if they have heard words or pronunciations different from their own?

What did these words convey? Has anyone ever asked the student where they

were from because of the dialect they spoke was different than the other persons?

Have students ever heard classmates use a word that was different than the one they were familiar with?* What might explain the differences?

Lesson

What does a dialect tell us about someone? What doesn’t a dialect or accent tell us? How do we combat stereotypes associated

with regional dialects?

Questions

Treatment of Appalachians

Education Ideas

How is it possible that we, as educated

individuals, allow such images of Appalachians to exist?

Furthermore, do we let such images that are being propagated alter our views on the entire Appalachian population based solely on their dialects?

Questions

Appalachians are not only fighting the coal conglomerates

and out-of-state landholders in their struggle to end strip mining, but are also struggling against cultural assumptions that mark them as expendable. If we are choosing to fight injustice and exploitation, whether generally or in their specific manifestations through the destruction of the globe’s most ancient mountain range, we must examine our own understandings and popular representations of hillbilly culture. To win this struggle and any other that impacts Appalachia, it is imperative that we stand in solidarity with its people and call on our comrades to do the same.- Wren Awry

“The stereotypes of Appalachia, the idea of Appalachia have

prevented us in understanding that the problems of the mountains are not different from those of the larger society, but are in fact intertwined with the challenges facing the rest of the nation as a whole. Appalachia, as I argue in my most recent book, Appalachia is not the other America. There are no easy solutions to poverty and inequality in Appalachia unless we confront some of the fundamental challenges facing America today, problems of building a sustainable economy, assuring social equity, protecting the land and the environment, valuing family and community, respecting diversity, acknowledging civic duty and responsibility and placing people over profit. In that respect we are all Appalachians and the hidden America is all around us.”- Eller

Educators must teach students the history and

characteristics that set these students apart from others. Help them appreciate their culture in spite of constantly being

a punch line. Educators must emphasis the importance of diversity and

demonstrate an appreciation for what the region offers to the country. This emphasis will eventually weaken the allure of

stereotyping people from this region. Educators must continue to teach these students and help

them gain access to college. Educators must help combat the stereotypes that surround

these people especially that they are unintelligent.

Role of Educators