Newsletter

Graduate Humanities, our Program newsletter, has been published bi-annually without interruption since 1977. Click on the links below for an Adobe PDF version of the more recent publications:

Fall 2023
Continuing our series from the Spring 2023 issue, graduate student Hayley Humphries leads off with her oral history of Tina Humphries’ stain glass artistry     /     Oral history interview by graduate student Anna Osborne with musicians Mary Ashton and Amy McIntire of the classy country MA’AM     /     “Continuing to do Great Work” celebrates Dr. Luke Eric Lassiter’s 28th Distinguished John Deaver Drinko Academy Fellow award from Marshall University and the honorary doctorates awarded to Dr. Lassiter and his wife and colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Campbell, by Malmö University in Sweden     /     And more . . .

Spring 2023
In the lead article, “Government Performance Auditing & the Humanities,” Brooke Hypes proposes that Oral History should be included as part of the process used by state agencies and boards to see if they comply with laws and regulations and operate efficiently and effectively    /     Interview with Austin Barnett by student Brooke Hypes about his life in the theater     /     Interview with Makeup Artist Alexia Lilly by student Elijah Ashbury     Interview with Chef K.D. Jones by student Rachael Fortune     /     “Beyond the Classroom: Using Oral History for Organizational Development”     /     And more . . .

Fall 2022
Lead article by Mikhaela Young (’20), “Recovery Appalachia and the Art of Recovery: Hope and Healing,” describes how Mikhaela approached the field of psychology and its many dimensions through the lens of the humanities     /     Memoir in Appalachia: “Nikki Giovanni, bell hooks, and Our Appalachia” by graduate student Anna Osborne compares the memoirs of these two iconic Black female writers and why little is known about Black Power and School Desegregation in Appalachia     /     A follow-up to Anna’s musings on the “invisibility” of Black Appalachians is a piece by educational advocate Sheila Coleman-Castells, “From Whence Cometh My Help: How Black Girl Magic Can Change Appalachia”     /     Faculty member Cat Pleska explains her new role as Artist-In-Residence at West Edge in the old Corbin manufacturing building in Huntington     /     “What Constitutes Appalachian Music?” lets us follow graduate student Rachael Fortune’s growing appreciation for the diversity of music written and performed in Appalachia     /     Celebration of Dr. Luke Eric Lassiter’s recent acceptance of the president’s position for the Historic Glenwood Foundation     /     And more . . .

Spring 2022
Lead article celebrating Octopus, Elephant, Beehive: An Appreciative Inquiry into a Thriving Step By Step, Inc., a book published by the Graduate Humanities Program, with excerpts from interviews with Founder Michael Tierney and former Manager in Training, Kandi Workman   /     Appalachian Culture, Traditions, and Heritage: “I have a strong need to share the joy of music,” by Megan (Darby) McKnight with illustrations from her children’s book manuscript     /     Independent Research: “Falling in Love with McNeill’s Poetry” by Calisa Pierce (’21) accompanied by one of her original photos and a short nonfiction essay     /     Appalachian Studies: “Making the Life of My Grandmother Remain a Memory with Meaning” by Diana Bailey (’21)      /     And more . . .

Fall 2021
“Reflections on this past year: Nothing at all, Everything at once,” lead article and poem, “Surrender,” written by Kaitlyn (Rhodes) Rhebel (’19)     /     Excerpt from “A Killing Time” by Cat Pleska     /    Everyone Has a Story: Individual and Community Resiliency    /    Excerpts from Peggy Proudfoot Harman’s “Ethnomusicology Report: The Tygart Valley Homesteaders”    /    Excerpts from 2021 MU Press Release:” I’m Afraid of That Water wins Weatherford Award best books about Appalachia”    /    And more . . .

Spring 2021
“In this Public-Private Partnership Everyone is a Winner,” lead article with excerpts from interview with Kemp Winfree, Executive Vice President of the Historical Glenwood Foundation     /     “Cultural Equity”     /     “Art In Society” by Emily Hilliard     /     “Preserving West Virginia & Appalachian Culture through Collections at the West Virginia State Museum” by Shannon Cook     /     “Reformation of Representation: How Modern Museums Shape our Understanding of American Indian Culturesby Alexander Griffith     /     “Publication Permissions” from the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum     /    And more . . .

Fall 2020
“Mapping Human Diversity: Genetic Testing, Folk Ideologies of Heredity, and Race,” lead article with excerpts from interview with visiting Major Scholar, Dr. Jonathan Marks, Genetic/Biological Anthropologist     /     “Eugenics and Images of Appalachians,” synopsis of final paper by Andrew Gooding     /     “Don’t Call Me Ishmael: Eugenics, Pop Culture, and the Appalachian Quandary,” synopsis of final paper by Kyle Warmack     /     More excerpts from “I’m Afraid of That Water: A Collaborative Ethnography of a West Virginia Water Crisis by co-authors, Jay Thomas, Joshua Mills, Cat Pleska, Emily Mayes     /     Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsberg by Renate Pore     /     Zoom Talk Collage     /     And more . . .

Spring 2020
“I’m Afraid of That Water: A Collaborative Ethnography of a West Virginia Water Crisis,” lead article comprised of excerpts from the newly published book of the same name. Co-authored by academics and community members for three audiences: academics, local West Virginians, and a larger public interested in issues of disaster and its aftermath.     /     “Shifts in Perspective: The Workings of the Duck/Metaphor,” excerpts from work produced for the seminar, “Philosophy’s Practices and Engagements––American Pragmatism.”     /     “Legal Derivation for West ‘By God’ Virginia,” by Dr. Eric Waggoner, Executive Director, West Virginia Humanities Council.”    /    And more . . .

Fall 2019
“Yours Affectionately: The Intimate Letters of Lucy Woodbridge and Lewis Summers,” lead article comprised of excerpts from graduate Angela Holley’s final project regarding letters written by former residents of the Glenwood Estate in Charleston, West Virginia, during the Civil War.     /     “Processes of Preserving and Transcribing,” a description of Holley’s methodology and learnings.     /     “Building from the Ground Up: West Virginia’s Cultural & Creative Economy,” interview with Dr. Eric Waggoner, Executive Director, West Virginia Humanities Council.     /     New Book: Fearless: Women’s Journeys to Self-Empowerment, edited by Cat Pleska (’98), author, editor, publisher, storyteller, and faculty member, Graduate Humanities Program.     /     And more . . .

Spring 2019
“Finding Billy Dunn,” lead article comprised of excerpts from graduate Carolyn Quinlan’s final project regarding Little League Baseball in St. Albans, West Virginia.     /     “Work in Non-Profits: Appreciating the Charitable Sector Seminar (Part One),” with excerpts from student papers.     /     “Appreciating The Charitable Sector Seminar (Part Two),” a brief explanation of an organizational process, Appreciative Inquiry, and how it was used in the non-profit seminar.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2018
“Visual Metaphor: The Graduate Humanities Program as Kaleidoscope,” lead article explores the similarities between a liberal arts program and an optical instrument.     /     “Elevating ‘Evaluation’ to ‘Valuation,’” sets up the survey, “Asking ‘What Do You Value About the Program?’”     /     “Word Wide Web.”     /     And more . . .

Spring 2018
“Environmental Humanities,” lead article including interviews with a Major Scholar Seminar instructor, Dr. Susan Crate, Professor, Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University and student Mikhaela Young.     /     “Climate Science Needs Anthropology,” excerpts from a paper by student Kaitlyn Rhodes.     /     “Building Energy-Efficient Houses: Life After Grad School,” interview with graduate James Straight (’15) about his vision for his construction company.     /     New Book: Voices on Unity: Coming Together, Falling Apart, an anthology compiled and edited by Cat Pleska (’98), author, editor, publisher, storyteller, and faculty member, Graduate Humanities Program.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2017
“Learning Together: Academic & Community Partnerships,” lead article interview with Dr. Luke Eric Lassiter, Director of the Graduate Humanities Program.     /     “Recent Graduates & Their Community Partners,” excerpts from student projects with community groups.     /     And more . . .

Spring 2017
“Digital Humanities: What is it and Why Care?” excerpts from a discussion by students and instructor in our Digital Humanities seminar.     /     “Setting Sail for New Opportunities: Life After Grad School, article by Josh Mills (’16).     /    “We Dump Humanities Education at Our Own Peril” by Dan Foster, retired Charleston surgeon, former state senator, and a Gazette contributing columnist.     /     New Book: One Foot in the GravyHooked on the Sauce: Recipes You’ll Relish, compiled and edited by Cat Pleska (’98), author, editor, publisher, storyteller, and faculty member, Graduate Humanities Program.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2016
“Choice, Along with Confidence,” reflection by student, Rhonda Marrone.”     /     “Passages from Final Projects and Thesis,” excerpts from student projects.     /     Visual: “MU Graduate Humanities Program: What Attracts Our Students and Where They Work.”     /     And more . . .

Spring 2016
“Humanities Puts a Human Face on Public Policy,” interview with Dr. Renate Pore, Director, Health Care Policy for West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.     /     “Looking at Activism in West Virginia, Past and Present,” reprint from Charleston Gazette-Mail regarding the West Virginia Activist Archive.     /     Visual: “Public Humanities”—partnerships between our program and community groups.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2015
“Communicating A Different Way, A Better Way,” interview with student Ashley Dennison, Staff member of Heritage Farm Museum and Village, Huntington, West Virginia.     /     “A Deeper, Wider View of the World,” interview with Larry Groce, Musician and Arts Producer, Host of live radio show, Mountain Stage, and Director of FestivALL, an annual celebration of arts and entertainment in Charleston, West Virginia.     /     “How I Think About the Humanities,” exposition by student Josh Mills.     /     And more . . .

Spring 2015
“Always Taking Risks,” interview with Dr. Bob Maslowski, Faculty, Archaeologist (retired) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.     /     “Go to the Music to Figure Things Out,” interview with Dr. Lauren Onkey, Vice President of Education & Public Programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland Ohio, visiting Major Scholar faculty.     /    New Book: Riding on Comets: A Memoir, by Cat Pleska, Faculty and Editor-in-Chief, Mountain State Press.     /     New Book: Doing Ethnography Today: Theories, Methods, Exercises by Dr. Beth Campbell, Faculty, Assistant Professor of Education and Dr. Luke Eric Lassiter, Director, Professor of Humanities and Anthropology.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2014
“Connecting Past and Present,” interview with Dr. Billy Joe Peyton, Faculty, Co-Director of the Glenwood Center for Scholarship.     /     “Answering the ‘So What?’ Question,” interview with Dr. Arijit Sen, architect and vernacular architecture historian at the University of Wisconsin, and a visiting Major Scholar faculty, about reading American architectural landscapes.     /     Images from “Glenwood / History of Charleston Seminar & Public Presentation.”     /    New Book: Dark Wine Waters: My Husband of a Thousand Joys and Sorrows, by former faculty member, Dr. Fran Simone.     /     And more . . .

Spring 2014
“Something’s Going to Happen,” interview with student Jay Thomas regarding the juxtaposition between being a businessman (Blues BBQ) and a graduate student in the Humanities program.     /     “We Had to Make Up our Own Mind,” interview with student Brenna Craig about her learning experience in the program and in particular, in a seminar about the life, work, and culture of coal mining in West Virginia.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2013
“Its All There on the Page: A Life in Writing and Teaching,” by Cat Pleska (’98), Faculty.     /     “Living and Teaching,” by Anne McConnell, Faculty, and Associate Professor in the English Department, West Virginia State  University.     /    Glenwood Estate Memories & Histories.     /     And more . . .

Spring 2013
“Living in Music (Part II): Singing & Songwriting,” interview with Michael Tierney, Director, Step By Step, Inc.     /     “Singing & Songwriting,” interview with Dr. Luke Eric Lassiter, Director, Graduate Humanities.     /     New Book: Missing: Mrs. Cornblossom, by Colleen Anderson (’03).     /     New Book: Fed From The Blade: Tales and Poems From the Mountains, selected and edited by Cat Pleska (’98), faculty, Senior Editor at Mountain State Press.     /     And more . . .

Fall 2012
“Living In Music: Singing & Songwriting,” interview with educator Pete Kosky (’04).    /    “Singing & Songwriting,” interview with owner of Mother Wit Writing and Design, Colleen Anderson (’03).   /   And more . . .

Spring 2012
“Science and Art,” interview with artist, Angelica Tovar (’08).     /     “The Problem with Humanities,” essay by Renae Bonnett (’11).     /     And more . . .

Fall 2011
“So What Can You Do With A Humanities Degree?” by Trish Hatfield (’08), Program Assistant. “What’s Happened Elsewhere?”    /      “What’s Been Happening?”    /    New Documentary: “Secrets of the Valley: Prehistory of the Kanawha,” produced by Dr. Robert Maslowski, Faculty of Cultural Studies.    /    New Book: Explorations in Cultural Anthropology,” co-edited by Dr. Luke Eric Lassiter, Director, Marshall University Graduate Humanities Program.    /    And more . . .