Historical Context
When ETSU faculty and staff established the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services in 1984, they built upon a strong tradition of regional studies at ETSU. University faculty had played key roles in the early development of Appalachian Studies and were recognized as leaders in the field.
In the 1960s and 70s, ETSU professors, including Thomas Burton, Ambrose Manning, Jack Higgs, Richard Blaustein, Helen Lewis, Jack Schrader and others began studying the region, using the tools of their various disciplines.
Burton and Manning collaborated to create a model for ethnographic fieldwork in the region, collecting folklore, oral history, and ballads while establishing a collection of materials that would later be housed in both the Archives of Appalachia and the Reece Museum. Burton and Schrader collaborated on a series of highly regarded documentary films, including Gandy Dancers and They Shall Take Up Serpents, while Schrader also created an extensive body of fine art that is now housed in the Reece Museum. In 1975 Higgs and Manning published Voices from the Hills, the first comprehensive anthology of Appalachian literature. In the late 1960s, Lewis developed a place-based curriculum at ETSU which featured an innovative community-based student research component. Throughout the 1970s, Blaustein helped to establish ETSU as a center for the study of both Scots-Irish cultural heritage and for traditional music in the region.
In 1970, ETSU worked with Appalachian State University, Lees-McRae College, and Mars Hill College to found the Appalachian Consortium, which was a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of southern Appalachia. By the late 1970s, Appalachian Studies began to be organized as a distinct interdisciplinary field, building on regional studies concepts that had emerged in the mid-twentieth century. In 1978 ETSU scholars joined others from across the region to form the Appalachian Studies Association (originally called the Appalachian Studies Conference).