Involving faculty from
14 departments across Appalachian State University, the Center for
Appalachian Studies offers students a chance to examine the region
and culture of the Appalachian mountains on a scholarly level.
The Appalachian Studies Program was inspired by the work of Cratis
Williams, a former dean of the graduate school at Appalachian, said
Dr. Patricia D. Beaver, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies.
Authorized by former Chancellor Herbert W. Wey, Beaver said she
organized the Center for Appalachian Studies in 1978, building it
on faculty members who were strong in the social sciences and the
humanities.
The purpose of Appalachian Studies is to educate and prepare students
to support the Appalachian region, Beaver said.
“The program introduced me to a lot of aspects of the culture,”
said Cassie M. Robinson, a graduate student in the Appalachian Studies
program.
Robinson said through the program she was able to write papers for
professional conferences and was able to get a summer job with the
National Park Service.
The Appalachian Studies Program offers an undergraduate minor, an
undergraduate major through Interdisciplinary Studies and a graduate
degree.
Appalachian Studies, like all the other university departments,
provides the university and the community with instruction, research
and service, Beaver said.
The program is dedicated to the study of the Appalachian region
and works hard to “privilege the local story,” Beaver
said.
One of the primary resources for the Appalachian Studies program
is the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Carol G. Belk Library.
It is a library collection of materials about the Appalachian region,
including books, journals and sound recordings, said the Appalachian
Collection Librarian Dr. Fred Hay.
“You really couldn’t have an Appalachian Studies program
without such a collection,” Hay said. “There is no other
Appalachian [library] collection of its magnitude.”
In recent years, the Appalachian Studies program has added traditional
music as part of its curriculum, Beaver said.
“We’ve always had really great musicians coming through
the program,” Beaver said.
Beaver said her goals for the program are numerous and evolving.
They include supporting traditional values and combating stereotypes
of people from the region.
Beaver said combating stereotypes and forming an accurate history
of people from the Appalachian region is important.
“We’re looking back and saying … we had it wrong,”
Beaver said.
Combating stereotypes might mean “redefining history to account
for people’s identities,” Beaver said.
For this reason, Beaver said she is teaching a course in the spring
called “Diversity in Appalachia.” It will focus on areas
of diversity like the roles of women and African-American culture
in the region. |
