Pride in the mountains: A queer Appalachian anthology, 1970s-2020s
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Mary Josephine (MJ) Cope (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Alexander Macaulay
Abstract: "Pride in the Mountains" seeks to disrupt the fixity of regional-based Appalachian and LGBTQ+ identities through the evaluation of sociocultural place-making and change over time for queer individuals and communities in Appalachia. As this thesis centers marginal voices to uplift the self-determinist efforts of queer Appalachians in creating belonging, negotiating identity expression, and ongoing community development, this scholarship will focus on bottom-up narratives of queer individuals who have grown up, lived, or have chosen to live in the region from the 1970s through the present. As such, this work offers crucial interventions in understanding the processes of developing communities of memory and place, the complexity of identity assemblages, and the negotiation of belonging through lenses of class, gender, sexuality, region, and environment. Thus, "Pride in the Mountains" establishes a historical precedent of national historical processes and sociocultural evolutions that have gradually led to developing inclusive spaces and communities within the Appalachian region. In bridging the fields of rural queer and Appalachian studies through interdisciplinary analyses rooted in historical perspectives, this thesis will answer the following questions: How do queer Appalachians describe and create communities of belonging within the region? How does this coincide with identity construction through regional and community belonging, and what barriers have they encountered with these negotiations? What social and cultural conditions allowed for the emergence of visible queer communities in Appalachia, and how has this growth evolved? How fluid are identity expressions and negotiations in the Appalachian region, and how can these definitions extend beyond binary terms? Finally, how does the narrative of queer Appalachian communities and individuals challenge characterizations of Appalachia in historical and media-driven narratives?
Pride in the mountains: A queer Appalachian anthology, 1970s-2020s
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Created on 4/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Appalachian Region, Communities of Belonging, LGBTQ+ Communities, LGBTQ+ Identity, Placemaking, Regional Identity
- Subjects
- LGBTQ+ people
- Appalachians (People)
- LGBTQ+ communities