Inventing Appalachia: 19th Century Fiction, 20th Century Philanthropy, and American Idol

Authors

Sarah Bowles, Belmont UniversityFollow

Abstract

Of course, American Idol’s representation of the southern mountains in “Idol Gives Back” is nothing new. For the past 150 years, outsiders such as missionaries, philanthropists, educators, politicians, writers, and journalists have been defining—or, put another way, inventing—Appalachia for the rest of the country. Throughout the rest of this paper, I’ll trace one path this invention has taken as I connect 19th century regional fiction, 20th century philanthropy, and contemporary pop culture.

Keywords

Humanities Symposium

Recommended Citation

Bowles, Sarah (2010) "Inventing Appalachia: 19th Century Fiction, 20th Century Philanthropy, and American Idol," Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal: Vol. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium_journal/vol1/iss1/11