Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

History

Committee Chair

Melissa Bingmann

Committee Co-Chair

Ken Fones-Wolf

Committee Member

Jessica Wilkerson

Committee Member

Jennifer Thornton

Committee Member

Lou Martin

Abstract

Organized into four case studies, this dissertation investigates how longstanding power relationships in the Central Appalachian coalfields have shaped the preservation and presentation of mining history at museums and historic sites. It contributes to scholarship in the fields of public history and Appalachian history by exploring how apolitical, noncritical, and biased narratives at mining history sites have obstructed the public’s acknowledgement of larger forces and systems that govern Appalachian society and often bring harm and misinformation to coalfield residents. To present more exhaustive, nuanced, and innovative interpretations of bituminous coal mining’s past and present, museums and historic sites must redirect cultural messages about the coal industry in ways that critically evaluate the social, political, and economic structures of Appalachian communities, while also carefully navigating the limitations imposed by those same institutional structures. Each case study looks at both public-facing and behind-the-scenes processes of messaging and meaning-making to show how museums can use their unique social position to interpret coal history in ways that better serve people and their communities.

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