Kommentar |
This course is dedicated to the study of the region known as “Appalachia,” a mountain region spanning from New York to Alabama. Appalachia, as it is still perceived today, was created in the late nineteenth century as a region of difference to the rest of the nation (or the US-North); supposed difference in culture, speech and demeanor. In this course, we will critically explore the myth of difference or exceptionalism that imagines Appalachia to be the U.S.-South’s regional ‘Other’ or the nations’ ‘internal colony.’ We will start with the origins of Appalachia in the nineteenth century and trace the different formulations of Appalachian culture throughout the twentieth century and until today in different cultural texts about and from the region. Topics will for example include environmentalism and coal mining, local color and the creation of whiteness, regional stereotypes and the manifestations as well as erasures of Black and Indigenous Appalachian culture and history.
Texts will be made available on Moodle.
Requirements: active participation in class discussions and written assignments to be handed in during the semester. |