Project Director

Leahy, Elizabeth

Department Examiner

Coons, Jayda

Department

Honors College

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

This research seeks to analyze the rhetorical dimensions of how health is discussed in Appalachia, focusing specifically on Letcher County, Kentucky. In Letcher County, as in many Appalachian communities, rhetorics of healthcare and poverty are inextricably linked, largely due to media portrayals. One of the most impactful of these media portrayals is the 1964 CBS special entitled Christmas in Appalachia. In this special, host Charles Kuralt visits Letcher County and makes a pointed effort to speak to families who are living in poverty, asking them questions about their daily lives and if they “want better” for their children than their current living conditions. For many outside of Appalachia, this set the standard for how people perceived Appalachia as a whole – impoverished, poorly educated, and unaware of their own needs, including needs related to education and healthcare. This creates an insider-outsider dynamic, an “othering” of Appalachians. By tracing the rhetorics of poverty in Letcher County from 1964 and onwards, and examining if and how these rhetorics have changed, we can determine how rhetorics shape the community itself. Alone, the documentary may not be enough to identify a problem, but if we look at health statistics for Appalachia and for Letcher county, it is clear that there are major health disparities. I predict that creating a collection of documentation of negative media portrayals of Letcher county will reveal issues relating specifically to healthcare, and in turn where upheaval of healthcare structures could be needed and to the benefit of Appalachians.

Acknowledgments

Dedicated to Megan Faver Hartline The truest advocate I know and a personal source of hope.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

12-2025

Subject

Appalachians (People)--Health and hygiene; Health in mass media; Rural health--United States

Location

Letcher County (Ky.)--Social conditions

Keyword

health and media rhetoric; health disparities; health outcomes

Discipline

Appalachian Studies

Document Type

Theses

Extent

iv, 39 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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