Tennessee Tech hosting its 48th annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference beginning Thursday.
Assistant English Professor and Program Chair Erin Hoover said the event is meant to highlight literature, history, scientific advances, and other aspects of life from the Appalachian region. Hoover said the conference will feature keynote speakers and performances like Choctaw social dances, a country music show, and a bluegrass concert.
“Really looking at the culture and the people and some of the challenges faced by the region allows us to get an idea of how we can really face certain challenges,” Hoover said “But also meet opportunities presented by the specific set of circumstances of being in Appalachia.”
Hoover said there will also be presentations from a wide variety of different scholars sharing their work, insights, and expertise about Appalachia. Hoover said hosting the conference in the southern portion of Appalachia will allow the event to focus on more concerns specific to this section of the region.
“It is unusual to have academic content alongside stuff that would really just be for a general audience or just for the community,” Hoover said. “But that is the model of the Appalachian Studies conference so that’s what we’re following. There’s not intended to be academic barriers to participating. We want to have things that are interesting to everybody, whatever their interests are.”
Hoover said the event is hosted by a different university each year, but it is usually not held at a technological school like Tech. Hoover said she believes hosting the conference gives Tech the opportunity to bring more STEM-related fields into the discussions about Appalachia.
“We’re doing great research here really tied to the region in which we’re situated at Tech,” Hoover said. “And so it’s a chance for us to showcase that research and talk about what we do best, which is serving our community around here.”
