Encyclopedia of Appalachia
The Encyclopedia of Appalachia is the first encyclopedia dedicated to the region, people, culture, history, and geography of Appalachia. The Region, as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission, is a 205,000-square-mile area that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Forty-two percent of this Region's population is rural, compared with 20 percent of the national population. The encyclopedia is 1,832 pages long and contains over 2,000 entries.[1] Produced by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University, Rudy Abramson and Dr. Jean Haskell, are the two main editors of the encyclopedia. Jill Oxendine served as managing editor. The volume was published in March 2006 by the University of Tennessee Press.
An online edition was initiated in 2011. As of August 2011, only the Music section put together by section editor Ted Olson is online. The online edition includes videos in addition to text and images.[2] Access to the online edition is free.
Organization
The print version of the encyclopedia has 1832 pages. It is organized into the following five main sections with respective subsections:
The Landscape
- Geology
- Ecology
- Environment
The People
- Family and Community
- Images and Icons
- Race, Ethnicity, and Identity
- Settlement and Migration
- Urban Appalachian Experience
Work and the Economy
- Agriculture
- Business, Industry, and Technology
- Labor
- Tourism
- Transportation
Cultural Traditions
- Architecture
- Crafts
- Folklore and Folklife
- Food and Cooking
- Humor
- Language
- Literature
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Religion
- Sports and Recreation
- Visual Arts
Institutions
- Cultural Institutions
- Education
- Government
- Health
- Media