Studying Appalachian Studies

Chad Berry is academic vice president and dean of the faculty, Goode Professor of Appalachian Studies, and professor of history at Berea College. He is the author of Southern Migrants, Northern Exiles. Phillip Obermiller is a senior visiting scholar in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati. He is coauthor of African American Miners and Migrants: The Eastern Kentucky Social Club. Shaunna L. Scott is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky and the author of Two Sides to Everything: The Cultural Construction of Class Consciousness in Harlan County, Kentucky.

Weatherford Award (Nonfiction), Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association, 2015."This invaluable critical assessment of Appalachian Studies is long overdue and is destined to become a seminal work in the field."--Steve Fisher, co-editor of Transforming Places: Lessons from Appalachia"This important collection of essays represents the first comprehensive and critical evaluation of the scholarly enterprise of Appalachian Studies. Full of much knowledge, wisdom, and insight, it critically evaluates the field’s successes, missteps, roads not taken, and important compass points for future direction while also viewing Appalachian Studies in relation to other studies programs as well as changes in higher education over the past three or four decades. Additionally, the essays will serve as excellent portals for new readers wanting to learn more about the academic study of the region."--Dwight B. Billings, coauthor of The Road to Poverty "Since its inception in the 1970s, Appalachian studies has displayed a penchant for regularly critiquing its achievements. . . . This book continues that tradition. The book provides food for thought for those engaged in interdisciplinary and activist activities. Recommended."--Choice"A provocative 'critical assessment' of Appalachian studies' past and present… There is much to be admired about Studying Appalachian Studies. The editors and contributors consider crucial and defining questions about the past, present, and future of Appalachian studies… and offer a number of potential ways to advance the field."--West Virginia History "Provides a critical overview of the scholarly and activist endeavor in its past and present configurations, and offers a road map to guide our collective efforts in the future."--Emily Satterwhite, author of Dear Appalachia: Readers, Identity, and Popular Fiction since 1878 "About forty years after the rise of Appalachian studies, Studying Appalachian Studies offers a history and assessment of the field. . . . The three editors of the volume, all past presidents of the Appalachian Studies Association, have facilitated a book project that underscores the promises and challenges of place-based, interdisciplinary study."--The Southern Register