Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0002-8117-5827

Date of Award

5-1-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Erin Ruel

Second Advisor

Deirdre Oakley

Third Advisor

Wendy Simonds

Abstract

Appalachia is a place of mystery rarely examined with a systematic methodological lens (Van Leeuwen; 2008; Carbó et al. 2016). The term “Appalachian” has remained a synonym for “backward” or “ignorant” or “hillbillies” for much of modern history. Do media outlet framings of Appalachians, who primarily supported Donald Trump over two U.S. election periods (2015-2021) reinforce the national understanding of Appalachians as uneducated whites? To answer the question, I used Critical Discourse Analysis to interpret 51 news articles from The New York Times, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Daily Yonder, and The Roanoke Times from the announcement of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in July 2015 to the inauguration of Joe Biden in January 2021.

A comparison of articles written in responses posted by Appalachian sources reveals themes from reporting within and outside the region during this timeframe. In my analysis, I found five major themes demonstrating that media framings do indeed support the status quo understandings of white Appalachians as ignorant hillbillies. The stereotypes of Appalachians are like the caricatures of many other marginalized groups -- criminalized and demonized. Stereotypes lead to implicit bias, impacting services, policies, and individual interactions.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/34765631

File Upload Confirmation

1

Download

Share

COinS