Defense Date

3-20-2025

Graduation Date

Spring 5-9-2025

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Theology

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Gerald Boodoo

Committee Member

Elochukwu Uzukwu

Committee Member

Maureen O'Brien

Keywords

craft, Appalachian theology, Appalachian craft, Appalachian community, Appalachian religion

Abstract

Appalachia has been the subject of much speculation and often disparagement since it first became distinct as a part of the United States in approximately the 1860s, but it is more than just its reputation. This dissertation discusses the history and modern myth of Appalachia, and then it considers Appalachia on its own terms through what the people who live there have said about it and about their own lives.

This work focuses on the continued prominence of craft and its place in the spiritual lives of mountain people as it examines interviews that I conducted with mountain crafters. I assert that craft is still practiced densely enough in the mountains that its significance can be created and maintained by the community, particularly as people learn their crafts from older friends and family members and in turn teach younger people. Practitioners often maintain a sense of family and geographic history through their work, regardless of whether they are able to source the materials from the forest. The spiritual dimension that these participants uncovered tended to do with their thinking of themselves as aligning with or participating in the creative work of God.

Language

English

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