Women of Appalachia:
Native American Impact, Influence and Intersection

Women of Appalachia, returning to the Ohio University Zanesville campus after an absence of three years, hopes to re-invigorate this area of scholarship with a concentrated one-day conference, to be held on Friday, October 21, 2011, featuring Grammy award-nominated artist Becky Hobbs and her interpretation of the life of Cherokee patriot Nanyehi (Nancy Ward) through narrative and song. Hobbs will perform Thursday night, October 20th (7:00PM) on the OU Zanesville campus, then participate in a roundtable discussion during Friday’s event, thereby providing a unique and timely focus for our continued study of the female experience in the Appalachian region.

Concurrent session presentations can take the form of paper presentations and roundtable discussions. Suggested topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:

•Oral History and Biography: Women of Power in Appalachia
•Women in Native American Appalachian Literature and Folklore
•Native American Politics and Diplomacy in the Appalachian Region
•Native American Influence on Appalachian Folkways
•Native American Ritual and Healing; Female Healers/Shamans
•Inter-cultural cohabitation/collaboration: Native Americans in Appalachia
•Music, Dance and Rhythm: Cross-cultural Perspectives
•Native American Women’s History in the Appalachian Region

Presentations should run only 20 minutes in length. You will be asked to provide your audio visual needs upon acceptance of your proposal. Please submit a 250- to 300-word abstract to havenl@ohio.edu or wanat@ohio.edu by August 1, 2011. The proposal of complete panels is encouraged.
Questions, contact Lisa Haven (havenl@ohio.edu ), Matt Wanat (wanat@ohio.edu ) or Christine Shaw (shaw@ohio.edu ), or call (740) 588-1565.

Conference web page here:

www.zanesville.ohiou.edu/womenofappalachia

N. B. This year’s one-day event looks forward to the 2012 conference, when we will focus on the topic Women in Appalachia: Sisters in Science