UT Humanities Center 7th Annual Distinguished Lecture Series

Dialogues: Region and Nation

The southern mountains are a geological province of eastern North America, but Appalachia is a cultural region, defined by its history. Where did it come from? In this lecture, Steven Stoll considers the first agrarians to colonize the mountains and the planters and investors who acquired land there at exactly the same time. The two entities coexisted uneasily until events overtook them both. The industrial “scramble” for the mountains took place during decades of transition, when the mountain folk lost their land.

STEVEN STOLL is professor of history at Fordham University in New York City. He teaches environmental history and the history of capitalism. His recent
book is Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia (New York: FSG/Hill & Wang, 2017).

There will be a book signing following the lecture.

Free and open to the public.