By Kit Cottrell

It has been more than forty years since the first group of new faculty and staff to Berea College embarked on a tour of Appalachia with the goal of gaining a deeper knowledge of the Appalachian region, as well as an understanding of the College’s Appalachian Commitment.  Today, the Appalachian Seminar and Tour is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, recognition of the significance and value of the tour. 

The goals of the tour are:

• To learn about the Appalachian region.
• To provide context to the student population at Berea College.
• To enable faculty and staff to connect to their work in Appalachia.
• To build community.

The tour consists of two and one-half days of seminar, in which participants discuss such issues as the history of Appalachia, the complexities of the region, understanding religion in Appalachia, and examining Appalachian culture through artifacts.  This is followed up with four days on the road to experience the region first- hand with destinations that serve to highlight thematic issues of concern to Appalachia.  This year the tour had record attendance and traveled outside the Eastern Kentucky region for the first time, journeying into West
Virginia and Tennessee.  

A few highlights of the tour include a trip to the Leslie county home of Daymon Morgan, a long-time activist whose land is threatened by mountaintop removal, to examine the issues of activism, family, meaning of home, and mountaintop removal; the Frontier Nursing Service, America’s first agency devoted to midwifery, to examine the  issues of health and wellness in Eastern Kentucky, women’s issues, and the role of outsiders; then on to Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky, a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts and education center focusing on the culture, heritage, and concerns of Appalachia. 

Other destinations included visiting an old-growth forest in Lilly Cornett Woods, the Highlander Research and Education Center, and the Community Center of Big Creek People in Action (BCPIA) in Caretta, West Virginia, which is located in McDowell County, one of the poorest counties in the nation.  BCPIA is a community organization working to improve the lives of residents in this county.  These stops, as well as numerous others, all serve to underscore the themes of family, activism, education, culture, economics, and rich diversity of Appalachia.  At the conclusion of the tour, there is a closure session; a follow-up to allow participants the opportunity to digest and process the experience.    

The Appalachian Seminar and Tour is a remarkable and rare opportunity for new faculty and staff to better understand the region through a holistic approach of dialogue, contemplation, and first-hand experience, as well as the importance of the College’s Appalachian Commitment. 

The next tour is scheduled for August 6-13, 2008. For additional information about the tour, contact Center Director, Dr. Chad Berry by email at at extension 3727.