University of Kentucky

The Appalachian English (AE) dialect has changed over time. AE developed in the 1700s when Scottish-Irish immigrants settled in the cheap, mountainous territory that makes up the Appalachian Mountains. Isolated from the outside world for centuries, the Appalachian people spoke a distinct dialect that became known as AE. Unique features characterize the speech in Appalachia; the use of these features is fading as the area becomes less isolated. Migration and advances in technology have played…

and strong family ties. This led to former residents of Appalachia who had left the mountains for jobs that had fallen victim to the Depression returning home and increasing the population. Eller estimates a 30% population increase in Knox County, Kentucky in the 1930s. Many Appalachians who returned to the mountains found closed mines and mills and turned to government work programs and public assistance.…

This book is centered around Dawn Jewel, a 15-year-old girl growing up in Eastern Kentucky. It illustrates the many challenges a young lady growing up in the region would but seems to extremely over exaggerate the issues to the most extreme. The novel is set in a poor community that details bad living conditions and a failing schools system…

On October 6th, the Appalachia class had the pleasure of watching the informative documentary Overburden, directed by Chad A. Stevens. A film that highlights the greed of a company and industry and the struggle and division of a community, Overburden tells the emotional story of how mountaintop removal of the Appalachian area, (particularly in Raleigh County, WV) does more than simply damage the physical environment. The majors themes presented in the film challenge one to think about the coal…

After I graduated high school a few years ago, I attended the University of Alabama for a short time before I decided that I did not want to be in school at the moment, and would rather work until I was ready to go back to school. Being in the small town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was a culture shock to me being that I was born and raised in the suburbs of Washington D.C., and then moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where I always had plenty of activities to choose from. Coming to Union College…

Missouri Compromise (1820) A Free State: (before the Civil War) A state in the United States in which slavery was illegal (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20state). A Slave State: Any of the 15 states of the Union in which slavery was legal before the Civil War. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/slave+state) In 1819, a huge debate grew in Congress as to whether or not to make the new state of Missouri and free state or a slave state. Missouri wanted to become part of the union…

proposal is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Regional Sharing Jeffersontown is a suburb of the city of Louisville Metro and has a memorandum of understanding to share resources with surrounding agencies in the region, including: the Kentucky State Police, Louisville Metro Police, St. Matthews Police, Shively Police, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Anchorage Police Departments. There have been numerous incidents requiring mutual aid and most recently on January 8th, 2016…

millions of years ago, anthracite coal as well as bituminous coal were deposited within the Appalachian Mountains. All over the United States, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia coal deposits are found (“Appalachian Mountains,” 2015). Today, 1.8 billion pounds of high explosives were used in just West Virginia and Kentucky alone. These explosives may shake and crack house foundations, startle wildlife, or spray a large area with rock and other debris. The blasting and flooding…

nicotine use by kids a public health priority On american tobacco farms based on years research and interviews with 141 child tobacco workers ages seven to twenty seven in the country's four largest tobacco producing states include North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Nearly three quarters of children interviews reporting being sick,having a cold, or worse. Most of children we spoke to labored for fifty to sixty hours a week burning heat often without shade or water. They plant…

Blair Mountain: A Battle for Union Rights Coal is the lifeblood of West Virginia, and the advent of WWI sparked an increased demand for it, with American production reaching 579 million tons in 1918 (Fishback, 21). “The total number of men employed in the production of bituminous coal reached the large total of 615,000 in 1918, exceeding all previous records” (UMW Journal, 1920). However, this massive production and large number of workers in the industry was destined to see a sharp post-war…