CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND FINAL REFLECTIONS
Introduction and Summary of Study
Without prosperous local economies, the people have no power and the land no voice (Berry 2000, 193).
The goal of this project was to contribute to economic diversification taking place in this region by examining what sorts of alternative economic practices individuals in Eastern Kentucky are engaging with to make a living. Furthermore, this project has sought to demonstrate how the recognition of existing diversity might allow us to alter the historic pattern of development policies and practices in this region. It is through such an analysis that I hope to have contributed in some small way to understanding and imagining alternative local economies throughout Eastern Kentucky, and perhaps Central Appalachia as a whole.
The specific research questions addressed in this study centered on first, how has and how does economic development policy at the regional scale (primarily through policies created by the Appalachian Regional Commission) limit economic imaginings for those living in Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia more broadly? Second, I asked in what ways do state economic development strategies differ from alternative economic strategies that have emerged in Eastern Kentucky within the craft industry? Third, I sought to elucidate the principal contradictions that have arisen as a result of the differences in state-based economic development strategies specifically geared towards craft producers and strategies employed by locally-based arts organizations in Eastern Kentucky? Finally, I reflected upon what lessons policy makers might learn through exploring the diversity and different definitions of “the good life” and “development” that exist within Eastern Kentucky’s craft industry?
This project has engaged directly with the political, economic, social, and cultural reasons why craft producers chose to produce craft items and in what ways the state has played a role in this industry. In Chapter 2, I provided a theoretical framework that allows for a deeper understanding of craft production in Eastern Kentucky as well as the role of the state within alternative economic strategies. This theoretical framework draws upon
literature pertaining to diverse economies, alternative economic practices, a literature on ‘geographical lores’, discourses of the state and neoliberalism, theories of development and anti-development and historical analyses of craft production. Then, in Chapter 3, I provided an overview of the methodological approach and the methods used to study historic patterns of development policies and practices in Appalachia and state-based craft marketing projects in Eastern Kentucky. The methods used were primarily qualitative in nature and included the collection of oral histories, semi-structured interviews, discursive analysis of documents produced by the state and development agencies, as well as archival research.
After providing a discussion of literature pertaining to this research project and methods using in the field, I devoted Chapter 4 to examining the actual language of development policies and practices in the region. I argued that economic development strategies might be expanded in the future by taking into consideration the importance of alternative economic practices in development policies. Despite the perpetuation of neoliberal and entrepreneurial strategies throughout the last 30 years in development policy and practices, craft producers have nonetheless continued to explore alternative practices including cooperatives built upon shared production and distribution strategies. In Chapter 5, I drew upon examples from the craft industry and explored the process of creating a geographical lore and its use with regard to craft production and marketing in Eastern Kentucky. Such geographical lore and knowledge, often based on stereotypes of place, were used as marketing tools by early craft-related organizations and continue to be invoked today by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program. Furthermore, I documented the evolution of a state-based craft program that has become over time a major figure within the context of this industry, arguing that the state, within the context of Eastern Kentucky, does play a key role with regard to alternative economic practices and diverse economies.
In the following section, I will provide a summary of the contributions as well as the implications for researchers, development practitioners and policy makers that have emerged from this project. I will then discuss possibilities for future research, and the importance of using a language of diversity in the classroom setting and providing students with opportunities to explore their own definitions of development.
Contributions
The following section is meant to provide an overview of the main contributions of this dissertation.
Challenging Hegemonic Development Discourses in Appalachia
One of the aims of this research has been to contribute to the critical examination of prevalent development discourses in the Appalachian region. The process of
discursively deconstructing development documents allows researchers to better
understand the development ethos created by policy makers. The reports that have been critically examined in this study were responsible for solidifying development discourses in Appalachia and Appalachian Kentucky. Present discourses perpetuated by the
Appalachian Regional Commission and the state of Kentucky have limited definitions of development and economic imaginings for the region’s inhabitants. This project has provided deconstructions of these discourses so that new definitions of development – that take into account community-based development and alternative economic practices – might be constructed.
In addition, this research project speaks to broader development concerns in the Global North and Global South, contributing to already existing efforts to bridge the theoretical gap that exists between scholars working in these different regions. More specifically, this project has sought to demonstrate the value of discursive analysis of policy documents in the Global North; to highlight how this method is useful to scholars working in both global regions; and, to provide evidence of how new development policies and practices might be generated through our understanding of the performative nature of the creation of development documents and state-based development strateiges. In future publications, the researcher will share this discursive analysis more broadly through publically-accessible publications geared towards an audience of Global North development practitioners who engage directly in the perpetuation of development discourses. It is through such work that everyday mainstream development practices might be challenged on the ground level.
Deconstruction of Limited Geographical Lore and Place-Based Marketing
A second contribution of this research has been to document the ways in which a ‘geographical lore’ has been discursively produced about the Appalachian region since the late 1800s, and how this lore has been invoked to justify development discourses, and to market Kentucky-made craft products. A critical appreciation of geographical lore allows researchers to examine how cultural difference, coupled with place-based marketing techniques, is used to entice consumers with promises of exoticism, authenticity and high quality. The individuals in this study are frequently represented through geographical lore as isolated, backwards, traditional, and removed from the mainstream global economy. Therefore, geographical lore based upon stereotypes must be deconstructed, creating a discursive space for new lore that exposes
interconnectedness and shared struggles with other rural and mountain communities.
Documenting Alternative Economic Practices and Diverse Economies
A third contribution of this dissertation research involved understandings of alternative economic practices and diverse economies. The process of documenting economic diversity and alternative economic practices expands possibilities for economic development strategies and practices. The individuals who participated in this research study indicated that many motivations exist for engaging in craft production in Eastern Kentucky.
Through the collection of work biographies I found that craft producers do not always engage in craft production in direct opposition to more formal economic
employment. Only in one or two cases did any crafter use language indicating that they considered crafting ‘oppositional’. Many others engage in wage labor and produce crafts as a hobby, selling them informally, giving them to family members, or donating them to charities. Others produce crafts as a way to supplement income to cover medical
expenses, pay household bills, or cover other personal costs. There are those crafters that decided to remove themselves from what they consider the mainstream economy and have been producing crafts with spouses for many years now without engaging in any form of wage labor (these crafters do consider themselves as producing in opposition to the mainstream economy). In these examples, individuals felt that crafting allowed them
to maintain a level of control over their own time and capital. And still yet, there are crafters who fell into crafting because opportunities such as mining or timber extraction were no longer available to them (due to injury, Black Lung disease, or layoffs). There is significant diversity in this one industry. If craft production is to be considered as a development strategy, then policies need to consider providing support to many different forms and levels of craft production. We must also take into account that strong levels of attachment to place, culture, heritage and tradition are still woven into craft production throughout the region. As demonstrated earlier, such language (through problematic) may still be useful in terms of more inclusive development practices that allow craft producers to define for themselves what “ tradtion” and “authenticity" mean.
Providing Evidence of State Intervention in Alternative Economic Practices
As discussed in Chapter 2 the role of the state has been neglected in studies of alternative economic practices and diverse economies. Given this lacuna, a fourth aim of this project was to contribute directly to such studies by providing a framework through which to analyze the state. After briefly reviewing theories of the state, I argued that a ‘performative approach’ worked best when trying to understand the interaction between crafters and the state. A number of examples have been collected and presented in this document to demonstrate that the state – through mundane every day practices and
procedures – intervenes and shapes craft production in Eastern Kentucky. The individuals in this study have differing perceptions of the state based on encounters with state-based programs and employees within the context of the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program. As discussed in Chapter 5, the many divisions and departments of the state are often contradictory in nature, which has resulted in diversity with regard to the ways that individuals choose to interact with the state. In some cases individuals in the craft industry have decided that benefits exist to embracing state-based strategies and programs. However, some individuals in the region have felt excluded by state efforts and have created alternatives to state programs.
Examination of Cooperative Production Efforts and Social Possibilities for Surplus Distribution
This project has examined why individuals in the craft industry have turned to cooperative production methods in spite of a discourse of neoliberalism that has been perpetuated by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program and other arts-related industries. Examples such as the Sheltowee Co-op Art Shop were collected and documented in an effort to expand discussions of craft production and distribution in the region, and to highlight the social possibilities – such as the creation of a relief fund – associated with maintaining control of surplus. Though well-meaning organizations in the region provide support for crafters through selling their wares on their behalf, the ability to serve as the first distributor of surplus is taken away from the producer.
Fostering Critical Pedagogy and Teaching “Diversity”
The diverse economies research program seeks to do more than collect stories of diversity and alterity in the economic landscape. This research program aims to create a new economic language in communities and classrooms. My efforts to teach diversity and engage in critical theory with my students dovetails well with my research project to deconstruct development discourses, challenge predominant stereotypical geographical lore, foster recognition of the role of the state in alternative economic practices, and offer an analysis of cooperative production and distribution efforts. A contribution of this research project then includes my experiential efforts in teaching diversity. In the
conclusions, I have provide case study examples of critical projects that I have instituted during my time as an instructor for analysis and critique by other researchers in the final thoughts section of this chapter. The projects I have created and implemented in my classroom contribute to efforts to both document diversity and deconstruct development discourses.
In the next section, I move from a discussion of contributions to personal reflections on my work and implications of this research project for researchers, policy makers and teachers.