Wealth & Poverty in Appalachia Week 2015

The Wealth and Poverty in Appalachia events brings together faculty and students who share an academic interest in the region. The events include a public lecture, documentary screening, research talks, and a month-long photo exhibit that will be on display at Alden Library. The goal of these events is to provide a better understanding of the progress made in the context of socioeconomic, educational and health issues in Appalachian communities, as well as the challenges that remain. All the events are free and open to the community.

March 28 through April 10, 2015

Saturday, March 28 – Dr. Barry Tadlock, Associate Professor of Political Science, leads a student field trip about "company towns" to New Straitsville, Haydenville, and the ACEnet (Appalachian Center for Economic Networks) campuses in Nelsonville, OH. The group meets at 9 a.m. outside the first floor of Baker Center, facing Grover, same place as the Go-Bus stop, returning around 1 p.m. See RSVP information.

Monday, April 6 – Dr. Melissa Latimer, Professor of Sociology and Director of the ADVANCE Center at West Virginia University, public lecture on Welfare Reform in West Virginia: A Case Study of Appalachia, 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Baker 240/242.  This research talk utilizes research findings from a comprehensive longitudinal study of welfare reform in West Virginia to document place-specific consequences of TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) on economically disadvantaged adults and their families as well as the case workers (i.e., the street-level bureaucrats) who manage and deliver their services. (Abstract and Bio)

Tuesday, April 7 – Dr. Melissa Latimer, a research talk on Organizational Change and Gender Equity in the Academy, 10:30 to 11:50 a.m. at Alden 319 Friends of the Library Room.  The purpose of this research was to implement and assess an intervention designed to promote gender equity and organizational change within STEM departments in two Colleges at a single Research High university. (Abstract and Bio)

Wednesday, April 8 – Sarah Webb, Instructor in Social Work at the Chillicothe campus, a brownbag lunch on Addressing the Health and Wellness Challenges Facing Rural Appalachian Families, noon to 1 p.m. at Alden 319.  Please join us for an interactive brown bag lunch presentation including an introduction to some attributes of Appalachian Culture, working definitions of “health" and “wellness,” and how the role of poverty and geographical location may influence an individual’s and family’s ability to be “well.” (Abstract and Bio)

Thursday, April 9 – Dr. Yeong Kim, Associate Professor of Geography, documentary screening of Morristown: In the Air and Sun, 9 to 10:20 a.m. at Alden 319.  Focusing on one Tennessee working-class town, the documentary, Morristown: In the Air and Sun by Anne Lewis (2007) puts a human face to the effects of globalization on local and migrant workers whose lives are intricately connected and intertwined. (Abstract and Bio)

Thursday, April 9 – Dr. Aretina Hamilton, Visiting Assistant Professor of African American Studies, a research talk on The World of the [White] Unseeing: Uncovering the Black Spatial Imaginaries of African Americans in Appalachia, noon to 1:20 p.m. at Alden 1951 Lounge.  This work explores the history and presence of African Americans in Appalachia; and also reveals how current understandings of black identity continue to complicate contemporary understandings of southern identity. (Abstract and Bio)

Friday, April 10 – Dr. Daniel Showalter, Visiting Assistant Professor, and Dr. Robert Klein, Associate Professor Mathematics, a research talk on Why Rural Matters, Why Appalachia Matters, 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Alden 319.  Two of the authors of the Rural School and Community Trust’s biennial report Why Rural Matters use publicly available statistics to paint a picture of the state of education (broadly) in rural America and further offer a picture of education in rural Appalachia in particular. (Abstract and Bios)

From March 25 to April 24, Alden Library will host a small exhibit of photos, maps, newspaper articles and books showing wealth and poverty in Appalachia, prepared by Araba Dawson-Andoh (Alden) and Dr. Stephen Scanlan, Associate Professor of Sociology, on the fourth floor.

The Multicultural Center is hosting the "Women of Appalachia: Their Stories and Art" exhibit at the Multicultural Gallery on the second floor of Baker Center until the end of April.

For more information, contact Dr. Yeong Kim  or Dr. Edna Wangui.