Jerry and Shirley Boone: - Ferrum College

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Ferrum Hosts National Endowment
for the Humanities Institute
By Mark DeWeese
During the past one hundred
years, the history and cultural
traditions of every region in
the United States have been
affected by modernization
and industrialization. How to
recognize, evaluate and teach
these issues in a regional
context will be the focus of a
four-week institute for college
and university teachers this
summer at Ferrum College.
The institute is made possible
through a $127,000 grant
from the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
Under the direction of Dr.
Peter Crow, “Regional Studies
for Liberal Arts Learning: An
Appalachian Exemplar” will
be held June 3 - 28, 2002.
Ferrum was the only small
college selected to sponsor
one of fifteen Institutes to be
held this year. The others,
covering a wide range of
topics in the humanities, will
be held at institutions such as
Harvard University, the
University of Chicago and
Pennsylvania State University.
“The Institute will seek
participants from regions
throughout the country who
are interested in how regional
perspectives comment on
wider national and global
issues,” says Crow.
“Participants in the Institute
will discover how
regional material can spark
the interest of their students,
and enhance the content of
mainstream undergraduate
courses.”
Participants in the Institute
will learn first-hand how
Ferrum College professors
from a variety of disciplines
have worked together since
1996 to develop and teach
the Appalachian Cluster and
how to replicate the approach
in their own setting. The
Cluster is an interdisciplinary
module of general education
courses at Ferrum, all of
which incorporate Appalachian
material. Sixteen
students who enroll in the
cluster spend one semester
together and fulfill history,
sociology, science and English
requirements by focusing on
the impact of modernization
in Appalachia.
Crow is professor of
English and chair of the
Division of Language,
Literature, Philosophy and
Religion. Other Institute
faculty from Ferrum College
will include Associate Professor
of History Dr. Dan
Woods; Assistant Professor of
Sociology Dr. Susan Mead;
Professor of Environmental
Sciences and Biology Dr.
Carolyn Thomas; Associate
Professor of English Dr. Tina
Hanlon; Assistant Professor
and Public Services Librarian
Mr. George Loveland; Mr.
Roddy Moore, Director of
the Blue Ridge Institute and
Farm Museum and Assistant
Director Mr. Vaughan Webb.
A variety of visiting
scholars will augment the
instructional staff. These
include Dr. Charles Reagan
Wilson, director of the
Center for the Study of
Southern Culture, co-editor
of the Encyclopedia of Southern
Culture and editor of The
New Regionalism; Mr. Clyde
Kessler, Appalachian poet,
naturalist and consultant to
Appalachian writer Sharyn
McCrumb; Dr. Crandall
Shifflett, professor of History
at Virginia Tech and author
of Coal Towns: Life, Work, and
Culture in Company Towns of
Southern Appalachia, 1880-
1960; Ms. Denise Giardina,
author of Storming Heaven
and The Unquiet Earth; Dr.
Stephen L. Fisher, professor
of Political Science at Emory
& Henry College, nationally
acclaimed undergraduate
teacher and author of Fighting
Back in Appalachia:
Traditions of Resistance and
Change; Ms. Patricia Johnson,
African-American performance
poet and author of
Stain My Days Blue.
The Institute Scholars, as
participants are known, will
work on curricular or scholarly
projects related to their
own region or academic
institution after coming to
terms with any number of
issues that impact regional
transformation. These issues
may include, for example,
environmental degradation;
the nature of community;
feminism, and issues of
justice; religion, music and
folklore, to name just a few.
Ferrum College congratulates
Crow and his interdisciplinary
team of scholars for
winning this very competitive
and influential grant from the
National Endowment for the
Humanities. We believe the
Ferrum community will be
greatly enriched by the
presence of the 25 visiting
scholars and feel certain that
they and their students will
benefit for years to come
because of their immersion in
the Appalachian experience.
To learn more about “Regional
Studies for Liberal Arts
Learning: An Appalachian
Exemplar,” visit the Institute’s
website at www.ferrum.edu/
pcrow/neh.htm.
Mark DeWeese is the
director of Corporate and
Foundation Relations.
24 FERRUM MAGAZINE