Book description
Often referred to as the leader of inspiration in Appalachian
studies, Helen Matthews Lewis linked scholarship with activism and
encouraged deeper analysis of the region. Lewis shaped the field of
Appalachian studies by emphasizing community participation and
challenging traditional perceptions of the region and its people.
Helen Matthews Lewis: Living Social Justice in Appalachia, a
collection of Lewis's writings and memories that document her life and
work, begins in 1943 with her job on the yearbook staff at Georgia
State College for Women with Mary Flannery O'Connor. Editors Patricia
D. Beaver and Judith Jennings highlight the achievements of Lewis's
extensive career, examining her role as a teacher and activist at
Clinch Valley College (now University of Virginia at Wise) and East
Tennessee State University in the 1960s, as well as her work with
Appalshop and the Highland Center. Helen Matthews Lewis connects
Lewis's works to wider social movements by examining the history of
progressive activism in Appalachia. The book provides unique insight
into the development of regional studies and the life of a dynamic
revolutionary, delivering a captivating and personal narrative of one
woman's mission of activism and social justice.
""In showcasing Helen Matthews Lewis, Beaver and
Jennings remind us that an individual impassioned to do the right
thing will make a positive difference.... the editors have also
offered us Lewis' legacy as a challenge to examine our own roles
vis-a-vis committing to transform our
communities."--Courier-Journal" --
Helen Matthews Lewis has served as the director of the Berea
College Appalachian Center, Appalshop's Appalachian History Film
Project, and the Highlander Research and Education Center. She is
coauthor of Mountain Sisters: From Convent to Community in Appalachia
and Colonialism in Modern America: The Appalachian Case. She lives in
Morganton, Georgia.
Patricia D. Beaver, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies
and professor of anthropology at Appalachian State University, is
coeditor of Tales from Sacred Wind: Coming of Age in Appalachia. She
lives in North Carolina.
Judith Jennings, executive director of the Kentucky Foundation for
Women, is the author of Gender, Religion, and Radicalism in the Long
Eighteenth Century: The "Ingenious Quaker" and Her
Connections. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky.
