Fisher Helps Share Lessons from Appalachia

A new book co-edited by Emory & Henry College professor emeritus Stephen L. Fisher illuminates a social transformation taking place throughout Appalachia.

Transforming Places- Lessons from Appalachia was co-edited with Barbara Ellen Smith, and contains seventeen original essays from scholars and activists with a vast range of backgrounds. Transforming Places illuminates relevant lessons about building coalitions and movements with sufficient strength to challenge corporate-driven globalization through stories about economic injustice, environmental degradation, and the anti-democratic power of elites.

Contributors are Fran Ansley, Yaira Andrea Arias Soto, Dwight B. Billings, M. Kathryn Brown, Jeannette Butterworth, Paul Castelloe, Aviva Chomsky, Dave Cooper, Walter Davis, Meredith Dean, Elizabeth C. Fine, Jenrose Fitzgerald, Doug Gamble, Nina Gregg, Edna Gulley, Molly Hemstreet, Mary Hufford, Ralph Hutchison, Donna Jones, Ann Kingsolver, Sue Ella Kobak, Jill Kriesky, Michael E. Maloney, Lisa Markowitz, Linda McKinney, Ladelle McWhorter, Marta Maria Miranda, Chad Montrie, Maureen Mullinax, Phillip J. Obermiller, Rebecca O'Doherty, Cassie Robinson Pfleger, Randal Pfleger, Anita Puckett, Katie Richards-Schuster, June Rostan, Rees Shearer, Daniel Swan, Joe Szakos, Betsy Taylor, Thomas E. Wagner, Craig White, and Ryan Wishart.

John Gaventa, author of Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and REbellioin in an Appalachian Valley, called Fisher’s book and “outstanding” collection of essays. “Using the concept of place as their conceptual lens, Fisher and Smith weave together a series of diverse case studies of grassroots resistance to present a rich tapestry of citizen action in an increasingly globalizing world. This will be of interest to scholars, activists, students, and community leaders, within the Appalachian region and beyond."

"I cannot recall a book that has excited me more than Transforming Places,” said Richard Couto, editor of Political and Civic Leadership: A Reference Handbook. “This work is a major step forward in the study of social change, our understanding of 'free spaces,' and local resistance--how people get power and how they can use it to get more."

While at Emory & Henry, Fisher founded and directed the Appalachian Center for Community Service. In 1999, Fisher was named U.S. Professor of the Year by CASE and The Carnegie Foundation. Barbara Ellen Smith is professor of women's and gender studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.