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Informing Science + IT Education Conference 2003 Proceedings
| Informing Science + IT Education Conference |
| Pori, Finland June 24-27, 2003 |
| Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Appalachia: Internet Usage in the Mountains |
| Southern Illinois University, USA |
| This project looks at Internet usage within the Melungeon community of Appalachia. Although much has been |
| written on the coal mining communities of Appalachia and on ethnicity within the region, there has been little |
| written on electronic media usage by Appalachian communities, most notably the Melun-geons. |
| The Melungeons are a group who settled in the Appalachian Mountains as early as 1492, of apparent |
| Mediterranean descent. Considered by some to be tri-racial isolates, to a certain extent, Melungeons have been |
| culturally constructed, and largely self-identified. According to the founder of a popular Me-lungeon Web site, the |
| Internet has proven an effective tool in uncovering some of the mysteries and folklore surrounding the Melungeon |
| community. This Web site receives more than 21,000 hits a month from Melungeons or others interested in the |
| group. The Melungeon community, triggered by recent books, films, and video documentaries, has begun to use the |
| Internet to trace their genealogy. |
| Through the use of oral history interviews, this study examines how Melungeons in Appalachia use the Internet to |
| connect to others within their community and to the world at large. |
| Keywords: Internet, media, digital divide, Appalachia, rural, oral history, ethnography, sociology, com-munity |
ISSN
1535-07-03
Unless otherwise indicated, this paper has undergone blind external review by three or more reviewers.
Types of Papers: A Best Paper, Regular Paper, Short Paper, Informal Paper,
Unrefereed Panel Paper
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