Social Conditions, Social Life, and Customs

Dupuy, Jessica.  United Tastes of the South: Authentic Dishes from Appalachia to the Bayou and Beyond. 336 pages.  Southern Living (November 20, 2018).  In this book, food writer Jessica Dupuy focuses on the diverse cuisines of the American South. The food of the South is a multicultural melting pot. The dishes of the Low country are far different from what's cooking in the rolling hills of Appalachia or served in the heart of the Delta;Dupuy illustrates these differences through exploration of the regional dishes, cultural traditions, and nuances of cooking styles.

Hudgins, Phil and Philips, Jessica. Travels with Foxfire: Stories of People, Passions, and Practices from Southern Appalachia. 312 pages. New York: Anchor Books (August 14, 2018). This compilation, containing more than 30 essays, provides an extensive and varied collection of perspectives on Southern Appalachian. Contributors include artists, craftsmen, musicians, and even moonshiners, while the subjects of their essays include the history, geography, and traditions that define Appalachian living.

Lundy, Ronni, Johnny Autry. Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes.  320 pages.  Clarkson Potter (August 30, 2016).  Victuals explores the diverse and complex food scene of the Mountain South through recipes, stories, traditions, and innovations.  Each chapter explores a specific regional food or tradition -- such as salt, beans, corn and corn liquor.  Essays introduce readers to the rich histories of these foods and to the farmers, curers, hunters, and chefs who define the region's contemporary food scene. Through 80 recipes and stories gathered during her travels through the region, Lundy shares dishes that embody the story and flavors of the Mountain South. This book won both the James Beard Foundation Book of the Year and Best Book, American Cooking.

Moore, Michael DeWayne.  “Intercultural Disruption in Rural Appalachia.”  Ed.D. diss.  133 pages.  Northeastern University, 2015.  This study was designed to investigate and understand rural Southern Appalachians’ experiences with other cultures and how they articulated and understood those experiences.  Research indicates that rural Appalachian culture has a long history of geographic and social isolation, resulting in cultural barriers that may hinder this population’s social and economic mobility.  Research also indicates that intercultural experiences have emotional, intellectual, and social benefits for those who engage with other cultures. However, there is little research on the outcomes of intercultural experiences such as study abroad, service learning, or long-term international internships specifically focused on rural Appalachians. This study employs a qualitative methodology based in the narrative tradition to focus on the meaning of the participant’s stories highlighting issues including rural Appalachians’ limitations to cultural capital which may be transferred from generation to generation, and issues related to rural education, cultural understanding, and rural social and health work.  

Nelson, Candace. 2017. The West Virginia Pepperoni Roll. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press. 145 pp. This book details a comprehensive history of the unofficial state food of West Virginia. With over 100 photographs and countless recipes, it tells the story of the state food’s invention and its place in West Virginia’s culture. 

Sellers, Bakari. 2020. My Vanishing Country : A Memoir First ed. New York, NY: Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. "An eye-opening odyssey through the South's past, present, and future that is a moving and gripping tribute to America's forgotten rural working-class black folks. The small town of Denmark was once a thriving hub of South Carolina's idyllic Low Country. Yet today, this majority African-American town with a population of 3,500 is emblematic of the "Forgotten South"--Small communities of color stretching from Appalachia to the Sunbelt. For CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers, Denmark is "home" -- the land on which his forefathers toiled to build lives of meaning and substance, despite systemic racism and Jim Crow laws. In My Vanishing Country, he illuminates the pride and pain that continue to fertilize the soil of one of the poorest states in the nation and the forces threatening rural working-class black life. As he eloquently and powerfully argues, places like Denmark are worth saving; its people -- and their hopes and dreams -- matter because they are an indelible part of America. Since the 2016 election, politicians and the media have focused on the struggles of the white working class while consistently overlooking the residents of Denmark. In this atmospheric, rich, and poetic book, Sellers shines a light on life in today's rural South, where Americans still struggle for the basics of modern life: internet access, groceries, medical care, and clean water. Part memoir, part historical and cultural analysis, My Vanishing Country is a compelling read that captures the remarkable spirit and resilience of one small town and makes visible other "forgotten" communities. My Vanishing Country charts Seller's extraordinary journey -- from growing up the son of civil rights icon Cleveland Sellers to building on his father's achievements as the youngest person to serve in the South Carolina legislature, to his work today at CNN, and to his life as the father of twins he hopes will embrace the Sellers family name and carry on its legacy." -- Jacket.The small town of Denmark was once a thriving hub of South Carolina's idyllic Low Country. Today, this majority African-American town with a population of 3,500 is emblematic of the "Forgotten South." For Sellers, Denmark is the land on which his forefathers toiled to build lives of meaning and substance, despite systemic racism and Jim Crow laws. He shines a light on life in today's rural South, where Americans still struggle for the basics of modern life: internet access, groceries, medical care, and clean water. -- adapted from jacket

Sisler, Janice Cale, ed. 2017. Obituaries & Death Notices from Preston County Newspapers, 1880-1889. Bruceton Mills, WV: J.C. Sisler. 

Strange, Jason G. 2020. Shelter from the Machine : Homesteaders in the Age of Capitalism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. "'You're either buried with your crystals or your shotgun.' That laconic comment captures the hippies-versus-hicks conflict that divides, and in some ways defines, modern-day homesteaders. It also reveals that back to-the-landers, though they may seek lives off the grid, remain connected to the most pressing questions confronting the United States today. Jason Strange shows where homesteaders fit, and don't fit, within contemporary America. Blending history with personal stories, Strange visits pig roasts and bohemian work parties to find people engaged in a lifestyle that offers challenge and fulfillment for those in search of virtues like self-employment, frugality, contact with nature, and escape from the mainstream. He also lays bare the vast differences in education and opportunity that leave some homesteaders dispossessed while charting the tensions that arise when people seek refuge from the ills of modern society -- only to find themselves indelibly marked by the system they dreamed of escaping"-- Provided by publisher.

Welch, Wendy.  Fall or Fly: The Strangely Hopeful Story of Foster Care and Adoption in Appalachia. 198 pages.  Ohio University Press (January 8, 2018).  In this book, Welch describes the current state of the foster care system in the Appalachian coalfields. Her assessment is based on interviews with more than sixty social workers, parents, and foster children. She concludes that there are a complicated combination of feelings, including both hope and frustration, among those involved with the foster system.

Wilkerson, Jessica.  To Live Here, You Have to Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice (Working Class in American History).  University of Illinois Press; Illustrated edition (December 30, 2018).  280 pgs. Launched in 1964, the War on Poverty quickly took aim at the coalfields of southern Appalachia.  There, the federal government found unexpected allies among working-class white women.  These women were devoted to a local tradition of citizen caregiving and seasoned by decades of activism and community service.  Wilkerson tells their stories within the larger drama of efforts to enact change in the 1960s and 1970s.  She shows how white Appalachian women acted as leaders and soldiers in a grassroots war on poverty by shaping and sustaining programs, engaging in ideological debates, offering fresh visions of democratic participation, and facing personal political struggles.  Their insistence that caregiving was valuable labor clashed with both entrenched attitudes and rising criticisms of welfare.  Their persistence, however, brought them into coalitions with black women, disabled miners, and other unlikely allies to fight for causes that ranged from poor people's rights to community health to unionization.