By Mack McCormick, Mariana Moreno

The AWA's mission is to promote and recognize writing about the Appalachian region. The association works to celebrate writers who are living or have lived in the Appalachian region and those who have significant Appalachian connections through heritage or scholarship. The AWA currently gives out five awards each year: the Harriette

By Whitney Harder

(July 16, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences has named Shaunna Scott as the new director of its Appalachian Studies Program and Christopher Barton as the new director of the Appalachian Center.

"Chris Barton and Shaunna Scott will make a great leadership team along with the staff of the Appalachian Center," said Ann Kingsolver, former director of both the Appalachian Center and

By Jenny Wells, Whitney Harder

(July 7, 2015) — When Ann Kingsolver, former director of the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, began speaking with grandparents raising grandchildren in Appalachian communities, two things became clear to her. First, these grandparents need a break every now and then. Second, they may not always feel comfortable helping their child with the curriculum offered in schools today.

So the idea for UK Tomorrow Corps was born, tackling both issues of respite care and education enrichment. Eventually it expanded beyond the idea of aiding grandparent caregivers to support many types of families and students across Appalachia.

Kingsolver also realized the

By Terrence Wade

(June 8, 2015) — Records from Benham Coal Company, one of several Appalachian collections to be digitized by University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funded Coal, Camps, and Railroads project, is now available on the digital library ExploreUK.

Located on the eastern side of Harlan County, Kentucky, Benham is a coal town developed by the Wisconsin Steel Company, a subsidiary of

By Sarah Schuetze

Traveling on the winding roads through the mountains of West Virginia, six people quickly realize that the mountains and the mountain folk are their worst nightmare. This is the premise for the film Wrong Turn, which is an example of “hillbilly horror” and a derogatory portrayal of Appalachia in popular culture.

Images of Appalachia and Appalachians in popular media range from idyllic to horrifying, and this semester, students in Professor Carol Mason’s course, Gender, Film, and Appalachia will examine this range of representation. The class is offered for credit through both the American Studies Program and the

by: Clark Bellar

(Feb. 3, 2015) — Lexington has long been a cultural hub of Kentucky, allowing artists from both rural and urban areas a unique opportunity to celebrate their work among a vibrant and diverse community. The first Lexington Old-Time Music Gathering will do just that, bringing an Appalachian experience to Lexington with traditional Appalachian music and art.

The Lexington Old-Time Music Gathering will run Feb. 12-15, with events occurring at different venues throughout Lexington.

Sponsors for the festival include WUKY, the University of Kentucky's community supported radio station, the UK Appalachian Center, part of the 

by: Kathryn Engle

(Feb. 3, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center,Appalachian Studies and the Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) are announcing a call for participation for the 2015 UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase. Invitations are extended to both undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines who are currently attending an accredited Kentucky university or college, and registration is free for both presenters and attendees

by Gail Hairston

(Jan. 27, 2015) ‒ From Reverence to Resistance, a series of lectures about Appalachians on film, begins today with “Genre and Jessica Lynch” at 2 p.m. today in William T. Young Library Auditorium.

Stacy Takacs, author of “Terrorism TV,” will discuss how Hollywood can “spin” a war. Her lecture will answer the question “Was West Virginia soldier Jessica Lynch really a female Rambo, and did the military make her a damsel in distress who needed to be saved from Iraqis?”

The next lecture, Hillbilly Horror, is slated Feb. 24, presented by Emily Satterwhite, author of “Dear Appalachia.” The lecture will focus on Appalachian slasher films like “Wrong Turn,” a series of six movies about deformed cannibals hunting in West Virginia.

The last lecture in the series, Goodbye Gauley Mountain, takes place March 24, and welcomes filmmakers Beth

by: Kathy Johnson

(Jan. 23, 2015) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  Sitting in for Godell this week is WUKY News Director Alan Lytle.  His guest is Mallory Powell, communications director for the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science and curator for the new Rooted in Our Communities-UK In Appalachia website.

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/uk-

by Kathy Johnson

(Jan. 9, 2015) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell. This week News Director Alan Lytle guest hosts and visits with UK President Eli Capilouto about the new "Rooted in our Communities" Appalachian initiative recently launched by the university. 

To listen to the podcas interview ferom which "UK Perspectives" is produced, click here. 

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

by Eli Capilouto

"I gleaned the remains of my life, turned toward the hills that give me help, give me shelter, hold the sky where it belongs."

                                                                                                                                                                             - Jane Hicks

Over the next

by Whitney Hale

(Dec. 16, 2014) — The Council on Library and Information Resources has announced the recipients of the 2014 Cataloging Hidden Collections Grants. A project from University of Kentucky Libraries was one out of 19 that were selected from a pool of 92 proposals submitted for grants. Award recipients will create web-accessible records according to standards that will enable the federation of their local cataloging entries into larger groups of related records, enabling the broadest possible exposure to the scholarly community.

The UK Libraries grant project, "Action in Appalachia: Revealing Public Health, Housing, and Community

by Eli Capiluto

(Dec. 11, 2014) — A special message from University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto:

"I gleaned the remains of my life, turned toward the hills that give me help, give me shelter, hold the sky where it belongs" - Jane Hicks

Over the next several months, we'll be examining and discussing the special relationship and partnership the University of Kentucky has with the Central Appalachian region.

A new series of stories, “Rooted in Our Communities: The University of Kentucky in Appalachia”, will examine the myriad ways in which UK faculty, staff and students are working in — and, more importantly, with — communities throughout the mountains. Those stories and other compelling features can be found here.

by Ann Blackford

(Dec. 11, 2013) – Jennifer Hatcher, associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, received a two-year $359,528 award from the National Cancer Institute for her project, “Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening (CRC) in Rural Emergency Departments.” 

The project will be the first to address the disproportionate incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer in rural Appalachia utilizing the emergency department as an access point. Hatcher and her team will pilot test a culturally tailored intervention using brief motivational interviewing by lay health advisors to promote colorectal cancer screenings in an emergency department serving rural Appalachian Kentucky in order to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention in this rural Appalachian

Don Pedi playing John Salyer's "Rose in the Mountain" at the Hindman Dulcimer Homecoming, in Hindman, Kentucky. A transcript of this video can be seen here.

by Jordan Mason

(Dec. 4, 2014) — You could say they left the best for last, as master musician Don Pedi performs the final concert in the 2014 "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series. Pedi, known for his skills on the dulcimer, will perform noon Friday, Dec. 5, at the Niles Gallery, located in the UK Lucille C. Little

by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(Dec. 3, 2014) — Jim Wayne Miller (1936–1996) was a prolific writer, a revered teacher and scholar, and a pioneer in the field of Appalachian studies. A new book co-edited by alumnus and University of Kentucky Graduate School Assistant Dean Morris Allen Grubbs, and Miller's wife, Mary Ellen Miller, seeks to honor and revive the legacy of this influential member of the Appalachian writing community.

During his 33-year tenure at Western Kentucky University (WKU), Miller helped build programs in the discipline in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, and worked tirelessly to promote regional voices by presenting the work of others as often as he did his own. An innovative poet, essayist and short story writer, he was one of the

by Whitney Harder

(Nov. 19, 2014) — Schools across the country are seeking better ways to match the skills of their graduates with opportunities that exist beyond high school. In parts of the country where jobs are scarce, educators have an even bigger challenge.  Being "college and career ready" just isn’t enough. Graduates in these pockets of the country will need to create jobs for themselves and their neighbors.

If necessity is the mother of invention, schools in Eastern Kentucky are poised to improve education beyond what schools in even the most affluent districts struggle to achieve. In January, the New York Times controversially described it as the hardest place to live in the United States, statistically speaking. Perhaps nowhere in the nation does the tie between education and economic growth have more potential than in Eastern

by Whitney Harder

(Nov. 17, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center will continue its Appalachian Forum with a screening of "Up the Ridge" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. A discussion will follow with the film's co-producer Amelia Kirby, development director of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center and Melynda Price, director of the African American and Africana Studies Program and College of Law faculty member.

The event will be held in Room 213 of Kastle Hall and is

by Mallory Powell

(Nov. 13, 2014) — Jasmine Newman admits that it was a TV show that sparked her interest in cultural anthropology. Growing up in Pikeville, Kentucky, Newman loved watching Bones, a TV series about solving crimes using forensic anthropology. In one episode, the main character mentioned cultural anthropology, a term that Newman didn't know.

"I started researching, and just fell in love with the idea of studying people, studying culture, and using that knowledge to help people relate to each other," she says.

Her passion is evident: Not only is Newman is graduating early with a bachelor's degree in cultural and applied anthropology, she's spent the past two summers interning with community empowerment organizations in South Africa and Appalachia. Both of Newman's internships were facilitated through UK.

"UK has a real drive

(Nov. 6, 2014) - Professor of Sociology Dwight Billings recently appeared as a guest on BBC World Service Radio to talk about hillbilly stereotypes. Billings says there has always been an interest in the American “other” – an interest that seems to have contrasting parts of fascination and fear.



He also went on to discuss how the stereotypes of people in Appalachia have led to making the area “a sacrifice zone” when it comes to progress in the region.

Listen to the broadcast here: https://soundcloud.com/bbc-world-service/hillbilly-stereotypes

In a career that has spanned over 40 years, Billings has written groundbreaking works on Appalachia, including the book "The Road to Poverty: the Making of Wealth and Hardship in Appalachia," for which he and co-