Shannon Bell, “Honoring the Understories of Place: Seeing Beyond the Coalfields Imaginary in Central Appalachia”

The forests of Central Appalachia in the United States are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Scores of medicinal herbs and forest foods grow wild in the Appalachian woodland understory, and a large share of the herbal products found on the shelves of natural food stores and pharmacies are harvested from this region. Central Appalachia is not known for its bountiful forest herbs, however; it is known for coal. Branded “the coalfields” for more than 100 years, the value of the biodiversity above the coal is often disregarded, as are the relationships that a diversity of Appalachian peoples have long maintained with the forest understory. In this talk, Professor Shannon Bell will draw on two decades of ethnographic research she has conducted in Central Appalachia and her work leading the creation of the Forest Botanicals Region Living Monument in Wise County, Virginia, to argue for the value of amplifying “understories of place”: the rich and complex histories, lifeways, and traditions that bind a region’s inhabitants, past and present, to the natural environment.

Shannon Elizabeth Bell is a Professor of Sociology at Virginia Tech. She is an environmental sociologist and Appalachian studies scholar whose research and teaching focus on just energy transitions, the socio-ecological impacts of fossil fuel extraction and transport, and forest-based traditions and lifeways in Central Appalachia.

This presentation is a part of the Humanities Seminar Series, sponsored by the Center for Humanities and held most Mondays from 12:15-1:15 pm in the Athenaeum classroom, 124 Newman Library. All members of the campus community are invited and very welcome to attend. Please feel free to bring your lunch if you like.

As this week’s seminar is a part of Humanities Week programming, registration is encouraged but not required. To register, follow this link: https://forms.office.com/r/4ZqEWTgK1v

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Abigail Middleton at 540-231-2640 or amiddleton@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.