Department of Appalachian Studies

Appalachia & Coal Mining: History & Current Issues

APST-3510-901 and HIST-3510-901

In recent years the national media has focused on mountaintop removal surface coal mining in Appalachia, and the economic, environmental, and social impact of that particular mining practice on local communities, on the region, and on the nation is very much an unfolding story.  Coal mining in one form or another has been practiced in Appalachia since the late nineteenth century and has literally and figuratively reshaped the region’s landscape.  And today many people think that coal will play a diminished role in the region’s future.  This course will explore coal mining in Appalachia, investigating the technological and legal developments within the region’s coal industry, the social life associated with the coal towns, and labor struggles between governments, mine companies, and groups of miners.  A philosophical assumption of this course is that the study of past mining practices and traditions will illuminate the present-day and future regional issues related to the mining of coal.  Combining optional field trips to key sites associated with coal mining (including a coal mining museum, a restored coal town, and a present-day coal mine operation) with readings from significant books, viewings of relevant documentary films and still photography, listenings to documentary sound recordings, online discussions, and original research, this course will explore the complex roles—past, present, and future—of coal mining in Appalachia.

Instructor:
Dr. Ted Olson
olson@etsu.edu 
(423) 439-4379