2026-2027 Academic Catalog

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Appalachian Studies (APS)

APS 1704 - Introduction to Appalachian Studies (3 credits) 
Introduces students to the history of the Appalachian region from European contact to the present. Traces the idea of Appalachia by tracing ways in which Americans have imagined the region over time. Explores humanistic problems of cultural identity, race and ethnicity, place and globalization, and impacts of natural resource extraction.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: HUM 1704 
APS 2124 - Music Traditions in Appalachia (3 credits) 
Survey and study of music traditions in Appalachia. Investigation of the formal elements of this music, including instruments and musical terms and forms. Exploration of style as a reflection of many cultural influences. Study of the impact and development of these traditions in contemporary musical practices.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 6A Critique & Practice in Arts, 6D Critique & Prac in Design, 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: MUS 2124 
APS 2404 - Folk Cultures in Appalachia (3 credits) 
Examination of the expressive genres and cultural processes of communities in Appalachia. Documentation of art and skill in everyday life, including material culture (e.g., foodways, architecture), customary behavior (e.g., music, ritual, occupational practice), and verbal art (e.g., narrative, speechplay), and analysis of how people have used these forms to shape social identities, physical spaces, and power relations.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 6A Critique & Practice in Arts, 6D Critique & Prac in Design, 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: HUM 2404 
APS 2434 - The Cultural Politics of Music in Appalachia (3 credits) 
Examines cultural, political, and social aspects of music in, of, and about Appalachia, including such commercialized and increasingly globalized products as “old-time,” “bluegrass,” and “country.” Ways in which music contests and reproduces social relations of race, class, and gender. Role of migration and racial diversity in formation of Appalachian music. Economic significance of music, such as Virginia’s The Crooked Road as a regional touristic undertaking.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 2 Critical Thinking Humanities, 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
APS 2454 - Faith and Superstition in Appalachia (3 credits) 
Considers how belief and belief practices relate to cultural identity and social hierarchies in Appalachia. Applies insights from Religious Studies, Folklore Studies, and Material Culture Studies to compare and contrast institutional and informal expressions of faith, including rituals, stories, shrines, and music. Students will engage with primary sources and document contemporary practices as they explore how expressions of belief in Appalachia create regional distinctions and enter national conversations about knowledge, science, and faith.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: RLCL 2454 
APS 2974 - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 2974H - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Honors
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 2984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 3124 - Societal Health in North America (3 credits) 
Study of human health within and across a variety of geographic contexts in North America. Describe the health consequences of inequity and injustice within and across American contexts. Consider the roles of collectives, social movements, mutual aid, interdisciplinary thinking, power and social justice in addressing pathologies of power and working towards human well-being. Advocate a biosocial lens that considers the dynamic relationships between biology and environmental, social, geographic, and historical contexts.
Pathway Concept Area(s): 3 Reasoning in Social Sciences, 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: STS 3124 
APS 3214 - History of Appalachia (3 credits) 
Early settlement, religion, the pre-industrial economy, the coming of the coal and lumber industries, labor activism, politics, migration, and regional identity.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: HIST 3214 
APS 3464 - Appalachian Communities (3 credits) 
The concept of community in Appalachia using an interdisciplinary approach and experiential learning. Interrelationships among geographically, culturally, and socially constituted communities, public policy, and human development. Pre: Junior standing.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: AHRM 3464, GEOG 3464, HUM 3464, SOC 3464, UAP 3464 
APS 3624 - Appalachian Literature (3 credits) 
Appalachian literature from the region’s beginnings to the present, including such diverse voices as women, Native American, Affrilachian, LGBTQ, and Latinx populations. Literary perspectives on the relationships between self, family, and community; place and displacement; and humans and the natural world. Analysis of stereotypes that have perpetuated inequity and displacement of power, as well as consideration of regional efforts to reclaim equity, power, place, and identity.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1106 or COMM 1016 
Pathway Concept Area(s): 7 Identity & Equity in U.S., 11 Intercultural&Global Aware. 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: ENGL 3624 
APS 3984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 4034 - Appalachian Languages and Cultures (3 credits) 
An empirical examination of how Appalachian speech both reflects and constitutes regional cultures. Emphasis is on applying sociological and anthropological methods and theories to the study of language in use.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: SOC 4054 
APS 4094 - Appalachian Community Research (3 credits) 
Undergraduate participatory community research as applied to issues of cultural heritage, sustainability, and identity. Students engage in projects defined by community groups and organizations as being critical to their well-being, continuity, or growth. Emphasis is on developing concepts of civic professionalism and developmental democracy.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: PHS 4094, SOC 4094 
APS 4414 - Issues in Appalachian Studies (3 credits) 
Research conducted by students on issues relevant to local or regional sustainability in contemporary Appalachia on contemporary environmental and community issues. Focus on environmental justice ethical issues expressed in or created by various forms of discourse.
Prerequisite(s): HUM 1704 or APS 1704 
Pathway Concept Area(s): 1A Discourse Advanced, 10 Ethical Reasoning 
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: HUM 4414 
APS 4964 - Field Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 4974 - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 4974H - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Honors
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 4984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 4994 - Undergraduate Research (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 4994H - Undergraduate Research (1-19 credits) 
Honors
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 5004 - Foundations of Appalachian Studies (3 credits) 
Interdisciplinary study of Appalachia. Historiographical debates and theoretical frameworks that inform contemporary scholarship in Appalachian studies, especially as they relate to race, class, gender, and place. Regional history and demographics. Cultural representations of Appalachia. Current social, economic, and environmental issues. Application of theoretical and historical considerations to the construction of research projects. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructional Contact Hours: (3 Lec, 3 Crd) 
Course Crosslist: RLCL 5004 
APS 5974 - Independent Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course 
APS 5984 - Special Study (1-19 credits) 
Instructional Contact Hours: Variable credit course