Appalachian Animals on Our Mind: A Survey of Human-Animal Relationships in Appalachian Literature

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
April Leigh Walters (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Katherine Ledford

Abstract: Humans have lived with nonhuman animals in the Appalachian Mountains for thousands of years. The relationships formed between these two groups of life have changed over the course of that time, but remained complex, nonetheless. This thesis begins to study Appalachian human-animal relationships by dissecting various relationships represented in prominent works of Appalachian literature, such as Harriette Simpson Arnow’s Hunter’s Horn, Wilma Dykeman’s The Tall Woman, and James Still’s River of Earth. This study moves through some of the current trends in the field of Critical animal studies (CAS) and, for the first time, pairs these trends with different concepts scholars have created in the varying disciplines under the umbrella of Appalachian studies. “Appalachian Animals on Our Mind” begins with a brief history of interactions between animals and humans in Appalachia, then moves into an analysis of literature. This thesis uses the literature to further examine differing human-animal relationships through psychological, ecofeminist, and anthropological models.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Walters, A.L. (2012). Appalachian Animals on Our Mind: A Survey of Human-Animal Relationships in Appalachian Literature. Unpublished master’s thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2012
Keywords
Animals in Literature, Animals Appalachian Region, Appalachian Region Southern in Literature, Appalachian Literature, Human Animal Relationships in Literature

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