More than a century ago, John C. Campbell observed that “Appalachia is a land about which more things are known that are not true than any part of this country.” Sadly, Campbell’s assertion is still disappointingly accurate – particularly among residents of geographical Appalachia who do not fit prevailing regional stereotypes.

Part one of this course will focus exclusively on depictions of Appalachia in documentaries and movies. Some of the films we will watch won considerable acclaim. Others never gained much attention, were forgotten almost as soon as they appeared, and are rarely known today except among regional specialists. Among the topics we will address in the fall term: the Cherokee removal story, the issue of slavery and race in pre-Civil War Appalachia, the devasting impact of the Civil War throughout the region (and particularly East Tennessee). Overlapping the two terms, we will watch films that explore the era c. 1870-1920 and how capitalist investors in extractive industries, missionaries, local color writers, tourists and the like “discovered Appalachia” and created regional images that persist today.