Back Talk from Appalachia : Confronting Stereotypes

Dwight B Billings

ISBN 10: 0813190010 / ISBN 13: 9780813190013

Published by University Press Of Kentucky Nov 2000, 2000

About this Item

Neuware - Appalachia has long been stereotyped as a region of feuds, moonshine stills, mine wars, environmental destruction, joblessness, and hopelessness. Robert Schenkkan's 1992 Pulitzer-Prize winning play The Kentucky Cycle once again adopted these stereotypes, recasting the American myth as a story of repeated failure and poverty--the failure of the American spirit and the poverty of the American soul. Dismayed by national critics' lack of attention to the negative depictions of mountain people in the play, a group of Appalachian scholars rallied against the stereotypical representations of the region's people. In Back Talk from Appalachia, these writers talk back to the American mainstream, confronting head-on those who view their home region one-dimensionally. The essays, written by historians, literary scholars, sociologists, creative writers, and activists, provide a variety of responses. Some examine the sources of Appalachian mythology in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literature. Others reveal personal experiences and examples of grassroots activism that confound and contradict accepted images of ''hillbillies.'' The volume ends with a series of critiques aimed directly at The Kentucky Cycle and similar contemporary works that highlight the sociological, political, and cultural assumptions about Appalachia fueling today's false stereotypes.

Seller Inventory # 9780813190013

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Back Talk from Appalachia : Confronting Stereotypes
• Publisher: University Press Of Kentucky Nov 2000
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813190010
• ISBN 13: 9780813190013
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 152H x 19D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 19 millimeters depth
• Weight: 527 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Appalachia has long been stereotyped as a region of feuds, moonshine stills, mine wars, environmental destruction, joblessness, and hopelessness. Robert Schenkkan's 1992 Pulitzer-Prize winning play The Kentucky Cycle once again adopted these stereotypes, recasting the American myth as a story of repeated failure and poverty—the failure of the American spirit and the poverty of the American soul. Dismayed by national critics' lack of attention to the negative depictions of mountain people in the play, a group of Appalachian scholars rallied against the stereotypical representations of the region's people. In Back Talk from Appalachia, these writers talk back to the American mainstream, confronting head-on those who view their home region one-dimensionally. The essays, written by historians, literary scholars, sociologists, creative writers, and activists, provide a variety of responses. Some examine the sources of Appalachian mythology in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literature. Others reveal personal experiences and examples of grassroots activism that confound and contradict accepted images of "hillbillies." The volume ends with a series of critiques aimed directly at The Kentucky Cycle and similar contemporary works that highlight the sociological, political, and cultural assumptions about Appalachia fueling today's false stereotypes.

About the Author

Dwight B. Billings is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Kentucky. He is a past president of the Appalachian Studies Association, a recent editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies, and the author or editor of several books.



Katherine Ledford is professor of Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University and coeditor of Back Talk from Appalachia: Confronting Stereotypes.