Paper Short Abstract:

In the United States, Appalachia and the American South are both regions where dominant, top-down narratives are often imposed on place, especially in relation to environmental belief, activism, disaster, and rurality. These narratives, in turn, have shaped our social imaginaries of, expectations toward, and attitudes about people and place—and who or where we believe deserves wider empathy, advocacy, or aid. This paper examines the permeability and limits of bordered approaches to region and rurality and explores what a re-examination of regional contact zones might offer folklorists as we navigate global climate crisis and increasing environmental disasters.

Paper Abstract:

In the United States, Appalachia and the American South are both regions where dominant, top-down narratives are often imposed on place, especially in relation to environmental belief, activism, disaster, and rurality. These narratives, in turn, have shaped our social imaginaries of, expectations toward, and attitudes about people and place—and who or where we believe deserves wider empathy, advocacy, or aid. Rural places and the people living within them are still often considered isolated and intensely local—disconnected from larger-than-local forces. These constructions create socio-environmental challenges, especially for unincorporated places within rural areas that may be unmapped yet are hosts to environmental exploitation and crises. Environmental sociologists, for example, have noted global polluting industries often intentionally choose unincorporated or marginalized communities to avoid deeper noticing of associated harms or disasters. Both regions also hold an abundance of bottom-up narratives, grassroots movements, complex beliefs, and creative expressions about environmental actions, art, and history. How can studying the overlaps, tensions, and connections beyond constructed regional boundaries help us better examine place-based practices and attitudes toward environmental life? What can a focus on the institutionally defined and imposed border between Appalachia and the South help us understand about other institutionally defined and imposed borders (and the violences that accompany them)? This paper examines the permeability and limits of bordered approaches to region and rurality and explores what a re-examination of regional contact zones might offer folklorists as we navigate global climate crisis and increasing environmental disasters.