As I learned more about Appalachian folklore, I found the announcement for the 49th Annual Conference of the Appalachian Studies Association and realized that perhaps I had been too harsh about attending conferences all these years. After all, this year’s location will be relatively close to the Mothman Museum, and I absolutely need to bring back photos and souvenirs for my students! Luckily, the conference organizers anticipated that we would be interested in a side-quest to the museum, so it appears that they included transportation on their agenda — bonus! So, I decided it was time to finally see why all my colleagues love attending these things and learn how panels and presentations function.
The funny thing about looking into one conference is that I was inspired to look for other conferences that are relative to my interests, and now I’m finding that I might actually want to start networking and presenting (even if the thought of a sizeable audience of my peers makes me light-headed and tingly). Where can I travel? How can I leverage professional development for exploration? Do like-minded individuals even discuss my interests? To the Google I went! Now, as I mentioned before, I don’t like to jinx myself — but I may have found a really fun option so far. Who knew schools overseas offered American Studies?! While to me it seems rather silly because it doesn’t seem to be useful in our country (we would likely just study History, Political Science, American Literature, or some Interdisciplinary program under the guidance of advisors), it makes more sense when considering other countries need to interact with a large population in the Western hemisphere. So, what are American Studies, anyway?
Obviously, “America” is a bit misleading — there are two continents of the Americas consisting of numerous countries. When people say “America” in terms of the United States of America, it actually dismisses the rest of the countries surrounding us. Blame it on my northern education, I guess (the curriculum in New York and New Jersey really is different from that in Florida and Georgia). So, the geographic location can vary depending on student preference abroad. Next, consider the content. The very nature of American Studies is interdisciplinary, just like digital humanities. Students choose their own adventure based on their interests and goals; someone interested in teaching American Literature might focus on teaching in English and classic American literature. Someone interested in working diplomatically with Canada might study North American politics and history. I appreciate the flexibility here considering what I do at my day job.
Of course, my field may not have that fancy tag, but I come with the unique life experience of seeing how communities function in various settings. I also noticed so far that many programs seem to be missing a critical portion of the United States demographics: Appalachia. Fifteen years of observation changes a person, especially when you enter the region with preconceived notions of the people you will encounter. Yes, the Hillbilly Elegy stereotype does exist, but there also exists nuance tucked into “hollers” and hills. We have to consider the good with the bad when thinking about the motivations of the Appalachian people. You will still find some terror (spoiler alert: the monsters look like you and me and hide in plain sight), but to ignore the marginalized groups is to erase their identity. To pass the signage for the Trail of Tears is to neglect the pain tilled into the clay and soil. So, not only has the desire to attend conferences grown, but so, too, has the desire to raise awareness and help others understand a region that has shaped this country.
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