Teaching Anthropology in the Sacrifice Zone

Abstract

and who is not poor, why some people are poor and others are not, who manages the construction and labeling of poor, and-stunningly, movingly, poignantlywhy and how they are poor.In anthropology, we challenge ourselves to confront humanity with our whole persons, to immerse ourselves in another culture, embrace the truthfulness of diverse worldviews and seek out the moments of nearlyinvisible injustice to understand inequity. Our frameworks often rely upon an understanding that there is an Other, and our job is to both understand those Others and contemplate our relationships with them. At regional, comprehensive universities, our students are kin to our participants, are often research participants in other anthropologists' studies and are simultaneously Othered by their home communities by virtue of "making it out." By engaging students in ethnography in their home environments and challenging them to reflexively consider their positionalities in relation to the stories they hear, ethnography becomes a method for examining the process wherein indigenous Appalachians create meanings about their place and their identity in a global society marked by socioeconomic stratification and structural poverty. The outcome of the studentengaged ethnography is a reunification with their Appalachian identity.From this unification emerges a sense of loyalty to the people and place of Appalachia, which in turn fosters loyalty to oneself. One student explained this trajectory after spending more than two years interviewing people in Appalachian Kentucky: I had grown so distant from this place, particularly when I started at EKU. I was seeing more to life and I just wanted to distance myself. I honestly want to remind myself of how great it is to be from here. The whole Appalachian region isn't this bad awful place where people go hungry. It's a place where people make ends meet. I want to remind myself of where I'm from because I really feel that's going to guide where I'm going. I want to remember where I'm from and use that knowledge to help in Kentucky, empower everyone, and maybe one day be part of something that's bigger than myself.What are the possibilities for an anthropologyinspired, liberation pedagogy to redress structural inequalities in Appalachia? As her reflection indicates, the installation of understanding and loyalty is, I believe, a pathway towards a revolution in Appalachia that will demand structural change resulting in improved socioeconomic conditions and qualities of life.Ethnographic research provides immersive, handson experience that enables students to put anthropology in action, resulting in greater comprehension of the core disciplinary tenets of anthropology and better retention of course information. More importantly, a significant amount of learning about oneself and others occurs when students participate in a project that demonstrates how local and global economic forces shape individuals and communities especially when those communities are their homes.As students come to our public, regional...

“As Long As We Have the Mine, We'll Have Water”: Exploring Water Insecurity in Appalachia

“…We approached the field site with an understanding of the histories of marginalization and inequality that mark rural Appalachian communities (Edwards, Asbury, and Cox 2006; Billings and Kingsolver 2018; Billings and Blee 2000). In this case, we were entering as both known and unknown entities, pivoting from previous discussions that focused on home gardening, food insecurity (Wies 2014), educational precarity (Wies and Mays 2016), and water quality (Wies 2018) to a new topic focusing on water acquisition and consumption. As “outsiders,” we were aware that our presence and our questions could cause fear or anxiety, and therefore we thought carefully about establishing rapport and trust.…”

“…One region of the United States in which water insecurity has received less attention is Appalachia. We previously encountered problems with water during fieldwork focusing on home gardening, food insecurity, and water quality in the region (see Wies 2014, 2018; Wies and Mays 2016). Therefore, for this project we focused specifically on perceptions of water insecurity.…”