Appalachian Studies
Division VI Chair: Althea Webb
Department Chair: C. Green
Faculty: C. Berry, C. Green, S. House (NEH Appalachian Chair), B. Starnes, and C. Wilkinson (Appalachian Writer-in-Residence)
Website: http://www.berea.edu/aps/
Courses: APS Courses
Course Sequencing Table: Appalachian Studies
Major/Minor Requirements: Appalachian Studies Minor
Appalachian Studies is a multidisciplinary department examining various aspects of Appalachian heritage and culture, including a choice of course work that examines artistic expression, health issues, sustainability, contemporary issues, gender, race, and other approved courses relating to Appalachia. The minor will complement and enrich any major at the College.
Berea students also may choose to pursue an Independent Major in Appalachian Studies under the guidance of the Appalachian Studies Department Chair.
In addition to supporting students' achievement of the Aims of General Education, the Appalachian Studies Department seeks to assist students in meeting the following learning goals and associated learning outcomes:
Appalachian Studies Student Learning Goals & Outcomes
Learning Goal 1: Articulate cultural and environmental geographies of Appalachia.
Learning Outcome 1.1: Delineate distinctive physical and human characteristics of places and regions in Appalachia
Learning Outcome 1.2: Analyze social and power relations of Appalachian cultures, identity positions, and social systems.
Identity position = gender, class, race/ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, etc.
Learning Goal 2: Discern the complex experience of interlinked people in Appalachian history
Learning Outcome 2.1: Explore the interconnected diversity of the Appalachian experience across time and space
Learning Outcome 2.2: Articulate ways that the Appalachian region has been and is connected to national and international development, culture, and history
Learning Goal 3: Analyze and Create Renderings of Appalachia
Learning Outcome 3.1: Analyze representations of Appalachia in terms of rhetoric and power
Learning Outcome 3.2: Explain the cultural function and meaning of Appalachian artifacts or events
Learning Outcome 3.3: Produce proficient non-academic-essay Appalachian creations.
Produce non-academic-essay creations (i.e., fibers, crafts, music, plays, films, poems, oral histories, etc.) that are proficient in terms of genre and their interaction with Appalachian materials, cultures, and/or issues
Learning Goal 4: Synthesize and deploy learning from curricular and extra-curricular experiences in regional work, service, or action
Learning Outcome 4.1: Consider Appalachian issues with methods, concepts, and skills drawn from varied disciplines, experiences, and approaches
Learning Outcome 4.2: Deploy skills and knowledge gained in the college setting in non-campus work, action, or, service related to Appalachia