New Mountains, New Questions, New Commonalities: On the Benefits of Comparative Inquiry in Appalachian Studies

Our panel uses the experiences of three first-time visitors, two university professors and an undergraduate student, to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine as a case study for examining the benefits of comparative inquiry in Appalachian studies. A veteran traveler to Ukraine and to other mountain regions around the world, and a respected scholar of Appalachia, serves as a commentator, arguing that Appalachian studies is ripe for comparative inquiry across national borders. The two professors reflect on the trip's impact on their scholarship and outline institutional opportunities and pedagogical benefits of international mountain to mountain comparative studies. The undergraduate student provides a personal account of the educational advantages of studying Appalachia in a comparative context and the broadening of perspective that comes with international mountain travel. The commentator situates the three presenters' individual arguments in the larger context of an emerging interest in internationalization in Appalachian studies scholarship, a move with roots in the adaptation of Danish folkschools for use in Appalachia in the 1920s; in international exchanges and visits between coalfield activists and social justice campaigners in the 1960s and 1970s; in long-running college and university study abroad trips to origin countries of Appalachian migration; and in scholarly work already done on transmission of cultural traditions and art forms from Europe to Appalachia. Collectively, this panel argues for careful adoption of best practices in comparative scholarly inquiry between Appalachia and other mountain regions around the world, and does so with an excitement for and appreciation of the wide path ahead.