Greetings, Students and Class Community.
Dr. Ann Kingsolver, from the Department of Anthropology and the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky, gave us a very informative lecture about the intersections of Appalachia Studies and African American Studies. Some terms and ideas that she discussed included:
- Double Consciousness and associated appropriations of the DuBois' theory in Appalachia Studies
- Tenant Farming
- Black Invisibility in Appalachia narratives and "Whiteness" Studies
- H-2A and H-2B visas
- Indian Removal Act
- Carter Woodson
- Booker T. Washington
Consider one of the aforementioned topics, how did Dr. Kingsolver's lecture affirm, expand or challenge your understanding about American culture, Kentucky history and/or African American Studies? Please post your comments.
I thought the Indian removal act was interesting to talk about. It always seemed like common belief that Native Americans did not live in Kentucky. That was very false and they were chased out of their homes like they were in other parts of this newly formed nation. This new land was then used to host slave labor.
ReplyDeleteIn kind, I found the discussion of the Indian Removal Act interesting. I usually consider the act as a major disruption in states bordering and west of the Mississippi.
DeleteI wrongly assumed that Kentucky and the Ohio region were states where the Native American and Euro-American cultures blended. I also believed that the tribes that didn't blend relocated to the Plains region of the US.
When I hear "Appalachia" I mostly think about Kentucky, coal, mountains and the not so great/wealth people who may come from there. I never thought much about other states. I found interesting that the first school to be integrate was actually in TN. Who would have known. I've also heard about the Little Rock Nine. Graduating from a historical black high school that is something that stuck out to me. Carter G. Woodson is an amazing figure he helped change Negro History week to black history month. I did not know he spent time in Kentucky working at coal mines
ReplyDeleteI really never gave a thought about the Appalachia before this class, because it was never something that was a topic for my area I guess. So, this discussion was very informative and allowed me to get a look into what it meant to be apart of the Appalachia and what goes on there.
ReplyDeleteFirst off I thought of uneducated hillbillies, tobacco, coal camps when the word Appalachia came up. These things weren't anything affiliated with my culture. I wrongly assumed there were a small and when I say small I mean microscopic amount of black people in the regions. I first was annoyed that Dr. Kingsolver just HAD to point out the fact that black people were IN FACT a huge part of the Appalachia. BUT when I started to listen she bought up the fact that Black people contributed a great deal positively and it made me proud. Proud that black people can even make the worst of areas thrive and help improve the social, economic, and political status of wherever. Of course I'm being bias but hey this is a blog lol (:
ReplyDeleteHer discussion on Booker T. Washington and DuBois interested me. I felt that even though she talked briefly about the two, it encouraged me to go home and read about the two viewpoints. After reading about the two, I have come to the conclusion that I follow DuBois' ideas on how African Americans should progress in this nation. Although Washington encouraged African Americans to go to college, I don't think agriculture should have been their sole focus. I believe that Washington's idea were just another way to keep African Americans underneath whites, instead of helping them to become their equal or at least viewed as their equal.
ReplyDelete