Something in These Hills: The Culture of Family Land in Southern Appalachia

What is the "something in these hills" that ties mountain families to family land in the southern Appalachians? This ethnographic examination challenges contemporary theory and explores two interrelated themes: the duality of the southern Appalachians as both a menacing and majestic landscape and the emotional relationship to family land characteristic of long-term residents of these mountains. To most outsiders, the area conjures images of a beautiful yet dangerous place, typified by the movie Deliverance. To long-term residents, these mountains have a fundamental emotional hold so powerful that many mourn the sale or loss of family land as if it were a deceased relative. How can the same geographical space be both? Using a carefully crafted cultural lens, John M. Coggeshall explains how family land anthropomorphizes, metaphorically becoming another member of kin groups. He establishes that this emotional sense of place existed prior to recent land losses, as some contemporary scholars argue. Utilizing the voices and perspectives of long-term residents, the book provides readers with a more fundamental understanding of the "something in these hills" that holds people in place.

About the Author :
John M. Coggeshall is professor of anthropology at Clemson University and author of Liberia, South Carolina: An African American Appalachian Community.

Review :
"Anyone looking for a nuanced and thoughtful approach to [the] complicated issues shaping modern Appalachia would do well to read this book."-North Carolina Historical Review "Coggeshall build[s] on the established ethnographic literature with original interview data, which not only confirms earlier findings but also adds detail and subtlety. . . . [A] valuable addition to the ethnographic literature on southern Appalachia."--American Ethnologist "Historians could learn from Coggeshall's approach . . . [and] beyond the field of anthropology, this book is appropriate and useful for historians, sociologists, students of the South and Appalachia, and those 'residents' desiring to learn a bit more about their neighbors and perhaps themselves."--East Tennessee Historical Society "This is a well-written, well-documented study of locals' feelings about and attitudes toward family land and how it is often considered family itself, both physically and metaphorically. . . . The author's mastery of the relevant literature in Appalachian studies and anthropology is impressive as is his ability to situate his ethnography within these fields, making this a significant contribution to both disciplines."--CHOICE "Well-organized, well-researched, and thoughtfully engaging. Academics specializing in the field will find the conceptual distinction between residents and inhabitants quite useful for further research and the personification of land thesis theoretically provocative. Those new to Appalachian studies will find the book a nice introduction to the field and the region. In sum, Something in These Hills is a book that has something for everyone who has an interest in Appalachia and related issues."--Contemporary Sociology