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Dalton State College’s School of Social Work will host a two-day
Cultural Competence Institute focusing on Diversity and Change in
Appalachia on March 19-20 in Memorial Hall on campus.
Among the presenters will be experts on both the Appalachian culture
and the Melungeon culture of Southwest Virginia and Tennessee.
“The event is designed for social service and allied professionals,
but it is also a great opportunity for interested citizens to learn
more about the cultures of our surrounding region,” says Dr. Lynne
Cabe, Assistant Professor of Social Work.
On Thursday, Dr. Helen Lewis, a retired professor of Appalachian
Studies, will speak on the topic of the importance of place-based
study. Her expertise is in the areas of coal mining families and
communities, and she has authored several books on those topics,
including Coal Mining, Culture, and Conflict; Fatalism or the Coal
Industry? and Picking up the Pieces: Women In and Out of Work in the
Rural South. |
Julie Dixon |
On Friday, Julie Dixon, owner of a Raleigh, North Carolina-based
communications company, will discuss the Melungeon culture.
Melungeons claim to be descended from Spanish, Portuguese, and
Turkish soldiers and sailors who intermixed with Native Americans as
far back as the sixteenth century and came to inhabit the Southwest
Virginia and East Tennessee region.
Dixon, who descends from that line, has created a documentary film
called Melungeon Voices, which was produced from 50 hours of
interviews conducted over a six-year period. She will talk about
what she’s learned from that project and will discuss her own desire
to connect with her ancestors.
Registration for the institute will take place at 1:30 p.m. on March
19 in Memorial Hall on campus and again at 8:30 a.m. on Friday,
March 20, in Memorial Hall. The price for attending only Thursday’s
programs is $35; for Friday only the cost is $25; and the cost to
attend the full Institute is $50.
Sessions scheduled for March 19 include a 2:00 p.m. presentation by
Dr. Lewis, followed by a 5:00 p.m. networking session. At 6:00 p.m.
in the Pope Student Center, participants will be served dinner,
followed by a musical program at 7:00 p.m. called Songs of Life,
Survival and the Hereafter: Appalachian Music Education.
On Friday morning, the documentary screening and discussion of
Melungeon Voices will take place in Memorial Hall from 9:00 a.m.
until noon.
Participants can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for several
of the sessions. To learn more, go to
www.daltonstate.edu/cce
and click on the Social Work Institute or call 706-272-4454.
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