Honorable Mention, John G. Cawelti Book Award of the American Culture Association

Description

In this pioneering work of cultural history, historian Anthony Harkins argues that the hillbilly-in his various guises of "briar hopper," "brush ape," "ridge runner," and "white trash"-has been viewed by mainstream Americans simultaneously as a violent degenerate who threatens the modern order and as a keeper of traditional values of family, home, and physical production, and thus symbolic of a nostalgic past free of the problems of contemporary life. "Hillbilly" signifies both rugged individualism and stubborn backwardness, strong family and kin networks but also inbreeding and bloody feuds. Spanning film, literature, and the entire expanse of American popular culture, from D. W. Griffith to hillbilly music to the Internet, Harkins illustrates how the image of the hillbilly has consistently served as both a marker of social derision and regional pride. He traces the corresponding changes in representations of the hillbilly from late-nineteenth century America, through the great Depression, the mass migrations of Southern Appalachians in the 1940s and 1950s, the War on Poverty in the mid 1960s, and to the present day. Harkins also argues that images of hillbillies have played a critical role in the construction of whiteness and modernity in twentieth century America. Richly illustrated with dozens of photographs, drawings, and film and television stills, this unique book stands as a testament to the enduring place of the hillbilly in the American imagination.

Hillbilly received an Honorable Mention, John G. Cawelti Book Award of the American Culture Association.

Reviews

"Anthony Harkins has written a fine book about how misconceptions were perpetuatedhe gives us insight into the ways the hillbilly icon has served the 'mainstream' belief system and the reasons the hillbilly icon had and has such power."--Herb E. Smith, Journal of Appalachian Studies

"Beautifully written and well illustrated, this volume builds upon a generation of research on regional images and the politics of culture in the Appalachian South. By setting that literature in the larger context of American cultural history, Harkins not only contributes to a broader understanding of the struggle to define and control national identity; he also points the way to a more critical assessment of the roles of class, gender, and race in regional identity as well."--The Journal of American History

"In the pantheon of American regional icons, none slouches more prominently than the hillbilly....an accessible and thought-provoking analysis of an American icon and its place within the American consciousness."--Arkansas Historical Quarterly

Product Details

336 pages; 78 halftones; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; ISBN13: 978-0-19-518950-6ISBN10: 0-19-518950-7

About the Author(s)