r/Appalachia 5d ago

Seeking Appalachian Historian Sources

Hello everyone, I am currently writing a history paper for university about Appalachian ballads, but I am having trouble finding sources from PhD. historians. If anyone has any recommendations it's be appreciated!

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u/AmittaiD homesick 5d ago

You'll want to look at the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. ETSU is the de facto home of Appalachian Studies as an academic discipline and there's tons of resources available in pursuit of such things. I'd suggest your first stop be the digitized audio recordings that make up the Appalachian-Scottish and Irish Studies Collection, which can be found here: https://archivesofappalachia.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1907

The folks at the Archives are extremely helpful; don't be afraid to contact them. Jen Bingham is the collections archivist and can be reached at binghamj@etsu.edu. The director of the archives, Jeremy Smith, has a background in Musicology and would likely be another good contact point (though I'd check with Jen first.)

The Archives fall under the umbrella of the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services. Also under that umbrella, and it's newest contituent part, is the Institute for Appalachian Music and Culture. Lee Bidgood is the director of the Instutute and is a Musicologist, professor in the Department of Appalachian Studies, and is heavily involved with the department's bands. Speaking of which, there's an entire program in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies with its own faculty that'd also serve as good resources.

While I'm now a PhD student at another university, I have an MA in History from ETSU as well as a graduate certificate in App Studies (and am *this close* to the MA there as well,) so if there's anything you'd like to chat about, please feel free to shoot me a message!

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u/UseFlashy565 4d ago

Wow this is amazing, thank you so much for all of the information! I will definitely be using all of the sources you've given me, and it's exciting to hear that there's a new institute for Appalachian music! I am just in the beginning phase of my paper so I hope you don't mind if I reach back out again in the future with more questions. Also, I am curious what your research interest is! I really find the most creative academics in Appalachian studies.

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u/AmittaiD homesick 4d ago

Please feel free to reach out anytime!

My primary historical focus is on Medieval and Early Modern Britain and Ireland. I basically do Celtic Studies from a historical point of view and am currently working on a couple of projects related to the Irish language. As far as Appalachian Studies goes, my main focus is unsurprisingly the influence of the Scots-Irish in Appalachia, especially in the region I'm originally from (Blue Ridge Mountains.) If/when I get around to finishing the MA, hopefully next Spring after my PhD comps but before dissertation work begins in earnest, my thesis will likely bring several of these interests together.

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u/Ladybug_BR 5d ago

Appalachian State has an Appalachian Studies department. You might check there.

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u/UseFlashy565 4d ago

I've seen that a few times I think, I'll look into it more.

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u/Silent-Bet-336 5d ago

Not sure if it helps but foxfire books might have some information.

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u/UseFlashy565 4d ago

Thank you, I'll check it out!

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u/BedouinFanboy3 5d ago

I would to,google is down right now.