By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

University Press of Kentucky (UPK) author bell hooks has been named the recipient of the 2013 Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s (BCALA) Best Poetry Award for her book "Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place."

The BCALA Literary Awards recognize excellence in adult fiction, nonfiction, poetry and publishing by African American authors published during the previous year, including an award for Best Poetry and a citation for Outstanding Contribution to Publishing. The award will be presented to hooks at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association

by Guy Spriggs

UK Sociology associate professor Shaunna Scott was recently named editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies (JAS). Scott is a former president of the Appalachian Studies Association – which publishes the journal – and becomes the second sociologist from UK to serve as editor of JAS.

“Being the editor of the journal has been one of my career goals for a long time,” Scott said. “I am very gratified that my colleagues in Appalachian studies have entrusted me with this important position.”

Scott is a long-time contributor to JAS and served on the steering committee that implemented the change from publishing conference proceedings to a peer-

The James S. Brown Award is given to honor the memory of Professor James S. Brown, a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Kentucky from 1946 to 1982, whose pioneering studies of society, demography, and migration in Appalachia (including his ethnography of “Beech Creek”) helped to establish the field of Appalachian Studies at U.K. and beyond.

The Award supports graduate student research on the Appalachian region. To be eligible, students must be actively enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at U.K. The Award must be used to meet costs of doing research relevant to social life in Appalachia including travel, lodging, copying, interviewing, ethnography, data collection, archival research, transcribing, and other legitimate research expenses. Except under special circumstances, awards will not exceed $1,500. The award does not cover registration or travel

By Erin Berger

An intervention created by a group of University of Kentucky faculty has proven successful in encouraging young women in an area of eastern Kentucky to complete the series of HPV vaccines to guard against cervical cancer.

In 2012, cervical cancer affected approximately 12,000 women in the United States and was responsible for another 4,200 deaths. In rural eastern Kentucky, women are more likely to die from cervical cancer than women residing elsewhere in the United States.

“The worst part about these statistics is that no woman should ever experience cervical cancer,” said Robin Vanderpool, assistant professor of health behavior in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.

Cervical cancer, a disease that is both preventable and treatable, remains a national public health concern particularly for women in medically

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center announces the following internship opportunities for the spring semester, for undergraduate or graduate students. Each internship is for 10 hours per week, with $10/hr. compensation. Students from all colleges at UK are encouraged to apply, and there is special emphasis on providing this opportunity to UK students who are from the Appalachian region.

The Appalachian Center (http://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu)  emphasizes community-university partnerships in shaping research and engagement that is useful in and beyond the region, in keeping with the land grant mission of the University. Our role is to facilitate stronger connections between student and faculty researchers from across all colleges at the University of Kentucky whose teaching, research, learning and outreach

by Whitney Hale 

The Thomas D. Clark Foundation and the University Press of Kentucky will host a symposium to honor the life and literary legacy of James Still. The Thomas D. Clark Medallion Symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, located at 251 West Second St.

The symposium will celebrate Still’s posthumous collection of short stories, "The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still," winner of the Thomas D

In November, the James W. Stuckert Career Center assembled a UK team to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program through which university students propose solutions to the world's humanitarian problems. While each of the students came from different backgrounds, from the College of Arts and

By Sarah Geegan, Amanda Osborn

Imagine being a University of Kentucky student in Lexington, but sharing a "global classroom" with students in China, France or India.  In collaboration with the associate provost for International Affairs and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), the UK College of Arts and Sciences recently established a program called Global Classroom Connections that will promote international learning and experiences through the use of contemporary technology.

As university graduates increasingly require international perspectives, skills and knowledge to succeed in the multicultural and interconnected world, 

By Sarah Geegan

The Appalachian Center and the University Press of Kentucky are hosting three events Friday, April 20, to celebrate Appalachia-related books published during this academic year.

The events, which will take place both at Memorial Hall and the Appalachian Center, honor books that contribute to the understanding of the Appalachian region and were published by UK faculty or by the University Press of Kentucky during this academic year.

Helen Lewis and Judi Jennings will give an Appalachian forum based on their new book, "Helen Matthews Lewis: Living Social Justice in

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences will present the Distinguished Professor Lecture, featuring History Professor Ron Eller at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 12 in the William T. Young Library auditorium.

Eller's lecture, "Seeking the Good Life in America: Lessons From the Appalachian Past," will discuss what the future holds for Appalachia, using the history of the region as a foundation.

Eller, a professor in the Department of History, is originally from West Virginia. Having  spent more than 40 years teaching and writing about the Appalachian region, he also served as the director for the UK Appalachian Center for 16 years. Eller has also served as

By Sarah Geegan

The UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will host the author, director, full cast and technical crew of Silas House's new play, "This is My Heart For You," fresh from its world premiere at Berea College. The cast will do a staged reading, accompanied by projected images of the world premiere event, at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15, in Memorial Hall.

House, a Kentucky author whose novels have attained major prizes and spanned across national best-seller lists, sold out the first three performances of his play on the night of the world premiere.

"

Dr. Ann Kingsolver, director of the UK Appalachian Center and professor of Anthropology has won the 2011 SAW Book Prize. Co-author Nandini Gunewardena and Kingsolver were awarded the prize at the American Anthropological Association's annual meeting in Montreal this past February for their book, The Gender of Globalization: Women Navigating Cultural and Economic Marginalities. Read more here. The prize represents the best book in the anthropology of work published within the last five years and is awarded annually. Congratulations Dr. Kingsolver!

 

By Ann Kingsolver, Sarah Geegan

Author bell hooks will give the final lecture in the "Place Matters" series, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program. The lecture, "Reclaiming Place: Making Home," will take place from 3:30-5 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, in the Worsham Theater, with a reception following at the Appalachian Center (624 Maxwelton Court).

Writing as bell hooks, Kentucky-born Gloria Jean Watkins received her doctorate in literature from the University of California Santa Cruz and has taught at a number of universities across the country. She has published more than 30 books; her forthcoming book of poetry, "Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place," will be

English Department Colloquium presents Gurney Norman reading "Spoken Stories"

Friday, April 6

3 p.m.

211 Student Center

Refreshments Served

As part of the Department of Sociology's Colloquium Series, Dr. Shaunna Scott to present, "The Martin County Coal Waste Disaster: A Sociologist's Reflections on Researching Disaster Impacts."  The lecture will take place in room 205, UK New Student Center on Friday, April 6, from 3-5pm.

Listen to the podcast here. Produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

The Appalachian Forum on Home Food Preservation will take place on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 7 p.m. in room 206 of the UK Student Center.

Please visit our Video page to watch the forum on Hydraulic Fracturing that took place February 23, 2012.

Founders Lecture Series presents 

Tammy Horn, award-winning author of Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation and the recently published, Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market is well-known for her work with bees and plants in Appalachian regions. Dr. Horn, born in Harlan County, Kentucky is a graduate of Berea College and continued her schooling with a M.A. degree from Fort Hays State and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Alabama. After teaching for three years at the University of West Alabama, she returned to Kentucky to help her grandfather with his bees and to teach at Eastern Kentucky University and Berea College. Her primary research and outreach activity involves collaboration with coal companies to reclaim surface mine sites with pollinator for- age and habitat. The goal is to create a three-season

Here are some ways you can help:

The University of Kentucky Geographical Society is partnering with St. Vincent Mission in David, KY., to provide school supplies to students in Magoffin County. You may drop off donations at the UK Appalachian Center by March 26. A drop box for donations has also been placed in the Geography Department mailroom and will be collected through March 23rd. Donations will be delivered to St. Vincent’s Mission on March 27th.

Magoffin County suffered a significant amount of tornado damage. Schools & homes in the area were hit particularly hard and students are now in need of the following materials:

Notebook paper

Notebooks

Crayons

Pencils

Pens

Markers

Folders

Rulers

Erasers

Pencil Pouches

If you have any questions, please feel

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will feature a panel discussion about hydraulic fracturing (or “fracing”) as a way of extracting natural gas in Kentucky. The event, part of the Appalachian Forum series, will take place from 7-9 p.m Thursday, Feb. 23, in Room 106 of UK's White Hall Classroom Building.

Panelists at the event will represent a variety of relevant areas of expertise, and after brief introductory remarks by each panelist, Al Cross