APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People

July 15th, 2003 - June 30th, 2009 | PROJECT

The James Agee Film Project is requesting funds to produce a four-part series of one-hour films on the environmental and social history of Appalachia. "APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People" will be the first series of films on the history of Appalachia and the first environmental history film ever made about a region in the United States. The project will demonstrate the dynamic interaction and inseparability of natural history and human history. By interweaving the discoveries and insights from scientific disciplines, including geology, ecology, biology and environmental science, with those of the humanities, the series will explore how the mountains have shaped human cultures and how people have shaped the mountains. "APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People" is made for national broadcast on PBS and is being co-sponsored by six Appalachian state PBS networks. The series is being produced in conjunction with the upcoming "Encyclopedia of Appalachia." Outreach programs include partnerships with many regional grassroots organizations, PBS stations and educational institutions to extend the film into a wide range of rural communities and schools. The Project Director/Writer of the series will be the Academy Award nominated filmmaker Ross Spears. Jamie Ross is co-producer/writer; Dr. George Constantz, the Science Writer/Content Director. Dr. Constantz is also currently the principal science and ecology editor of The Encyclopedia of Appalachia, which will be published in 2005. A distinguished group of scholars and scientists will contribute to the project. Dr. Gary Henry, Director of the Applied Research Center in Atlanta, will oversee the project evaluation.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Team Members

Ross Spears, Principal Investigator, James Agee Film Project

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 0307615
Funding Amount: 891228

Tags

Access and Inclusion: Rural
Audience: General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Ecology | forestry | agriculture | Geoscience and geography | Life science | Social science and psychology
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Broadcast Media | Media and Technology