Appalachians are often stereotyped as moonshining hillbillies who smoke corncob pipes and continuously feud with their neighbors. In reality, Appalachians are a diverse group of people, including African-American women who led the nation in the Civil Rights struggle, women of Cherokee heritage who write poetry, and Italian coal miners who helped to build one of the most important union movements in the history of the United States. The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia (CSEGA) has a unique research mission -- it is the only Appalachian Center in the country dedicated to studying and understanding this incredible diversity.

The Rockefeller Foundation for the Humanities recognized the importance of this research in 1996 when it awarded the Center one of its prestigious scholars-in-residence grants. Marshall remains the only institution of higher education in the state of West Virginia to have ever received one of these grants. Our program at CSEGA provides fellowships for researchers who wish to study some aspect of gender and/or ethnicity in Appalachia. Scholars from across the nation have traveled to Marshall to conduct research on women banjo players, Italian coal miners, Latina textile workers, African-American Appalachian schoolteachers, Cherokee family heritage, black women activists in the coal fields, Appalachian sexual minorities, and women workers in the glass industry. In March 2000, CSEGA hosted a national conference on Marshall's campus where Rockefeller scholars, in addition to numerous other regional academics and community leaders, presented work related to ethnicity and gender in Appalachia. In March 2003, CSEGA is again hosting a national conference both on Marshall's campus and in cyberspace with our Appalachia Wired: Webs of Diversity web-based conference.

In 2000, CSEGA was awarded a rare second grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to continue the outstanding work of scholars at the Center. As a result, research fellows were present on campus through 2002. All CSEGA Rockefeller Scholar-in-Residence Fellows are selected by a highly competitive process involving two selection committees. An interdisciplinary committee of Marshall faculty first reviews all fellowship applications and subsequently convenes to select the most promising projects. These finalists are then passed on to members of an external review committee consisting of noted scholars and specialists from regional universities, who then make the final selection of the fellowship recipients.

The existence of CSEGA on Marshall's campus has also generated new projects. For example, the Art Department at Marshall University, under the guidance of Dr. Mary Grassell, created an exhibit entitled "Pointing the Way," which graphically illustrated the many ways in which different ethnic groups have contributed to Appalachian culture. In addition to sponsorship from CSEGA, the West Virginia Humanities Council supported this project. The Center has established other opportunities for scholars who wish to study ethnicity and gender in Appalachia, but are not eligible for resident fellowships. CSEGA boasts scholar affiliates, student affiliates, and community scholar affiliates. These researchers have helped the Center, and Marshall University, to reach out to the Appalachian region through their publications, presentations at regional conferences, and their community activities. Topics studied by the Center's affiliates have included race relations in Appalachia, Appalachian Japanese war brides, women in West Virginia broadcasting, the role of women in coal town labor conflicts, gay Appalachians, the intersection of Latino/a and Chicano/a culture with Appalachian culture, and the roots of Appalachian blues music.

The Co-Directors of the Center, Dr. Lynda Ann Ewen (Professor of Sociology) and Dr. Shirley Lumpkin (Professor of English) are both scholars active in Appalachian studies. Dr. Ewen's most recent publication was the lead article in the Appalachian Journal (Winter 1999), and she is also the editor of an exciting new series with Ohio University Press, "Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia." Dr. Lumpkin was the recipient of the Drinko Academy Award in 1998 and created a multi-media work entitled "Re-Membering, Re-Weaving, Re-Visioning 'Other' Ways," which has been presented and published by the Drinko Academy. Ms. Connie Leinen, our new administrative assistant, is currently pursuing her degree in anthropology from Marshall.

An active and enthusiastic Board of Directors contributes to the ongoing development of the Center's activities. The Rockefeller grant has also supported a number of graduate assistantships. These outstanding graduate students have been actively involved in helping scholars with field research, transcribing interviews, developing publicity for the Center, and writing grants.

In collaboration with the Appalachian Studies Association (ASA), an entity very supportive of CSEGA, Marshall received one of the prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) challenge grants. Gordon McKinney, President of ASA, was very supportive of our application and provided invaluable assistance in the writing of the grant. This opportunity will expand the mission of CSEGA and provide a permanency we have lacked. Click here for more information about the challenge grant.

Persons interested in obtaining further information about the Center and its programs are encouraged to explore the website (http://www.marshall.edu/csega), email CSEGA, and/or call the Center's office at (304) 696-3348.