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The Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) is an organization of
scholars A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal ...
and
activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
s interested in Appalachian studies. According to its web site, “The Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) was formed in 1977 by a group of scholars, teachers, and regional activists who believed that shared community has been and will continue to be important to those writing, researching, and teaching about Appalachia. The Appalachian Studies Association's mission is to encourage study, advance scholarship, disseminate information, and enhance communication between Appalachian peoples, their communities, governmental organizations, and educational institutions.” The organization hosts an annual
academic conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an Convention (meeting), event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic jou ...
. It also publishes the
peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
''Journal of Appalachian Studies'', maintains a website, serves as a community for persons interested in writing, researching, and teaching about
Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
, and acts as a clearinghouse for information about the Appalachian region.


History

Prior to 1977, Appalachian activism, scholarship, and service manifested itself in many ways, including the activities of the Council of the Southern Mountains, an initial “Appalachian Conference” at Clinch Valley College in 1970, and a 1976 gathering at
Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...
in
Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...
, in honor of Appalachian scholar and
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
Cratis Williams.Brown, Logan, Theresa Burchett-Anderson, Donavan Cain, and Jinny Turman Deal, with Howard Dorgan. "Where Have We Been? Where Are We Going? A History of the Appalachian Studies Association." ''Appalachian Journal''. 31.1. (Fall 2003): 30-85. The 1976 meeting at Boone, which became known as the Cratis Williams Symposium, gathered scholars from a variety of academic disciplines, and it proved to be a watershed meeting in the development of Appalachian studies. “For the first time,” wrote Appalachian scholar and activist Steve Fisher, “academicians who had felt isolated in fighting the battle for Appalachian Studies…realized that there was a network of people fighting the same battle”. The Cratis Williams Symposium led to a planning session the following year at
Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...
in Berea, KY. This meeting identified seven objectives for future conferences: #To encourage Appalachian studies through an annual conference, newsletter, and ad hoc meetings. #To provide a forum for exchange of research information. #To coordinate analysis across interdisciplinary lines. #To increase and spread the knowledge of things Appalachian. #To be an advocate for Appalachian research. #To relate scholarship to regional needs and concerns of the Appalachian people. #To support other organizations’ efforts in harmony with the purposes of the conference. The first conference was held in 1978 at Berea College, and Appalachian studies conferences have been held every year since. Founded as the “Appalachian Studies Conference” in December 1978, the organizational name was changed to its current “Appalachian Studies Association” in 1993. A parallel effort was launched in 2002 with
Wheeling Jesuit University Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia, United States. It was founded as "Wheeling College" in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a ...
's Appalachian Institute, in accord with the goals set out in two pastoral letters of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...
. A timeline of the ASA’s history is available on the Appalachian Studies Association website.Timeline
- Appalachian Studies Association. Retrieved 2015-05-04.


References


External links

* {{authority control Appalachian studies Academic organizations based in the United States Educational organizations based in the United States 1977 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1977