Research and Publications

The Center for Appalachian Studies fosters and showcases scholarship that explores the rich cultures, histories, communities, and environments of Appalachia. Our faculty, students, and partners engage in interdisciplinary research that spans social sciences, humanities, music, folklore, ecology, and more.

The Center also produces Appalachian Journal, a peer-reviewed quarterly that highlights the latest field research, essays, interviews, and reviews on the region. From collaborative projects with local communities to groundbreaking academic studies, our research and publications aim to deepen understanding of Appalachia while supporting its people and traditions.

Research Spotlights

The Appalachian features the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection

Sep 15, 2025 • 8:53 AM

Haley DiFruscio curated this story from the ASU Library Appalachian Collection archive in App State’s Special Collections Research Center. The archived collections are available to browse in person during the SCRC’s hours of operation.

ARC grant enables students to study the impacts of local arts nonprofits on community following Helene

Apr 30, 2025 • 11:55 AM

BOONE, N.C. — In Fall 2024, a group of faculty members from Appalachian State University’s Beaver College of Health Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences was awarded a one-year, $8,000 grant by the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Collegiate Research …

Dr. Beth Davison and Jesse Barber ’22 ’24 featured on Appalachian Excellence podcast

Mar 18, 2025 • 3:44 PM

On this episode of Appalachian Excellence: Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity, Karen Fletcher, director of grants resources and services…

More Research Spotlights →

Voices and Visions of Appalachia

Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review

Since 1972, Appalachian Journal has published peer-reviewed research, essays, and creative works exploring the history, culture, and ecology of the Appalachian region.

Explore Appalachian Journal

Library Collections and Research Guides

Foscoe Valley Farm Scene, Watauga County, North Carolina, Early 20th Century

W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection

Explore a repository with 44,000+ books, periodicals, and thousands of recordings that embody Appalachian history, folklore, music, religion, and culture.

Search the Collection

Research Guide: Appalachian Studies

Explore Appalachian Studies with this guide to Special Collections, libraries, archives, and online resources on history, genealogy, and research tools.

Appalachian Studies Resources

Research Guide: Appalachian History

Find primary sources on Appalachian history with this guide, featuring Special Collections, library resources, online tools, and regional archives.

Appalachian History Resources

Books and Media Publications

Several books can be purchased directly from the Center for Appalachian Studies, our publishing partners, or borrowed from App State’s Belk Library. For more information about Center publications, please reach out to us. Contact the Center →

Voices from the Headwaters

Voices from the Headwaters shares 44 oral histories and 350+ pages of stories capturing generations of life in western North Carolina’s mountains.

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The Cratis Williams Chronicles: I Come to Boone

In these memoirs, Cratis Williams reflects on his journey from a Kentucky log cabin to a distinguished career at Appalachian State University.

Order I Come to Boone

Neighbor to Neighbor

The memoir of William Albert Wilson–an intimate and dramatic telling of the Civil War at home on the north fork headwaters of the New River in Ashe County, NC.

Order Neighbor to Neighbor

Tales from Sacred Wind: Coming of Age in Appalachia

An edited collection of Cratis Williams’ memoirs, capturing his Kentucky mountain childhood through folktale-like stories of life, school, and tradition.

Order Tales from Sacred Wind

Letters From Leo

A collection of letters from Asheville native Leo Finkelstein to the Asheville Lions Club during World War II — filled with humorous insight. The original letters are part of the Leo Finkelstein Papers collection in App State’s Special Collections Research Center.

View the Source Collection

Leo Finkelstein’s Asheville and the Poor Man’s Bank

Leo Finkelstein’s Asheville shares stories of Asheville’s Jewish community, tracing family, business, and resilience in WNC from the early 1900s onward.

Request from Belk Library

Cultural and Conservation Resources

Discover stories, events, research and resources from collaborators, local communities, conservancies, and ongoing projects.

Related Centers and Institutions

Explore fellow centers and institutions that provide resources, academics, research, and creative activities related to Appalachia and other mountain communities.