“College professors began to use them as textbooks in sociology classes.”

This quote intrigued me because though the culture is being used in textbooks and college courses it’s not always viewed negatively like the general public assumes. The Appalachian culture has been discussed in a few of my college courses including introduction to folklore and ethnology. For example in ethnology we studied the snake handling religion still practiced today in West Virginia, the only place it’s still legal. The folklore class focused on many of the positives of the culture from community closeness to the self-sufficient attitude of most Appalachians. It is truly sad that the majority of our fellow Americans have such a negative view of Appalachians. Here is a video from a professor concerning the values of Appalachians.

Citations

O'Brien, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales appalachia. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

Straw, R. (2007, November 15). Appalachian culture values. Retrieved from http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5687529798773751957