Coal Culture in WV - A Concord U. course
Karen Vuranch, known as “Mother Jones” and the woman who presents the performance piece called “Coal Camp Memories,” is teaching a class in Beckley for Concord University and the Coal Heritage Highway Authority called ” Coal Culture in West Virginia.” The class is going to be held at the Higher Education Center in Beckley on Mondays, 7 PM to 9:30 PM.
She will be showing several of the best films made about the subject including - ” Even the Heavens Weep, “ “In the Company’s Hands,” Davitt McAteer’s film, “Monongah 1907,” “Hillbilly - The Real Story” (showing the part about the Matewan Massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain” that includes an interview with William C. Blizzard and Ross Ballard), a WV State Archives DVD with clips of actual events, “The Widen Film Project” (the clip about the 1952 Widen Strike), “Matewan,” the film version of her play, “Coal Camp Memories,” the Sago Mine Disaster film shown on the History Channel, “Harlan County, USA,” “Portrait of a Coal Miner,” and Enoch Hick’s “Coal - A Flaming Rock.” She will also present some audio/music including music from Jack Wright’s recent release, “The Music of Coal” and Ross Ballard’s audiobook version of William C. Blizzard’s book, “When Miners March.” It sounds like one of the best classes ever presented on the subject. Contact Karen Vuranch at her website.
Syllabus for Coal Culture in Authority /
West Virginia Spring 2009 /Concord
University Co-Sponsored with the
Coal Heritage Highway
CenterHome Phone Number: (304) 574-4840 / Cell Phone: (304) 575-3636Address:
P.O. Box 383
Fayetteville, WV
25840
Optional Text: The student will choose one of the following and report to the class: When Miners March, Bill Blizzard Storming Heaven, Denise Giardina Unquiet Earth, Denise Giardina Thunder in the Mountains, Lon Savage
Monongah: The Tragic Story of the 1907 Monongah Mine Disaster, Davitt McAteer
Sago Mine Disaster, by B.L. Dotson-Lewis
Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese
Buffalo Creek Flood, An Act of Man, film by Appalshop Misery in the Borinage, international film
The Battle of
Blair
Mountain: The Story of
America’s Largest Labor Uprising, Robert Shogan Bloodletting in Appalachia, Howard
Burton Lee
Rise Up!
West Virginia, Patchwork Films
30 Days: Working in a Coal Mine, episode by Morgan Spurlock
October Sky, Universal Pictures major motion picture Rocket Boys, Homer Hickham
Extra Innings: A History of Coalfield Baseball, WV Public Television film
Between a Rock and a Hard Place, film 60 minutes: Mountain Top Removal Mining – CBS report by Mike Wallace
All Shaken Up: Mountain Top Removal Blasting and Its Effect Upon Coalfield Residents, film
Course Requirements - 1. Journal – The student will keep journal of the class. The journal will be a record of the experiences of the class and give the student’s reaction to the lectures, guest speakers, films and other class presentations. Entries will also be required for field trips and special events. There will be one entry for each of the 8 academic lectures, one entry for the movie, Matewan and 2 entries for the field trips. The first field trip is a class visit to theMine
Academy and the second field trip is to the Exhibition Coal Mine, which will be completed individually, on the student’s own time.
2. Mid-Term Exam – a mid-term essay exam will be worth 50 points. 3. Final Exam – a final essay exam will be worth 50 points. 4. Coal Heritage Trail Interpretation – The Coal Heritage Trail runs from
Bluefield to Ansted. Each student will be assigned one portion of the trail and research that portion. One story, anecdote or incident about this portion of the trail will be related in 1 – 2 page essay and could be used in the future to interpret the trail to visitors. 5. Book or Film Report – The student will be responsible for one of the optional texts or films listed above and will make a presentation to the class.
6. Final Project – Each student will complete a final project on the history of coal in
West Virginia that is based on oral history the student gathers. The student will interview a person or persons who have a connection to the coal fields. The students can design their own project which may include, but is not limited to, writing a Goldenseal style article, presenting a power point presentation, performing a dramatic creation, or creating a photography exhibit. The Coal Heritage Highway Authority will make some limited funding available for materials for these projects. The final projects will be presented in forum that will be publicized and open to the public. 7. Attendance –Attendance and class participation will affect the student’s grade. If there is an unavoidable conflict, please contact the instructor in advance. Any late assignment will automatically be dropped one letter grade unless advance arrangements have been made with the instructor. Repeated absences may cause a drop in letter grade. Students are also expected to participate in class discussions and activities and listen attentively to the speeches presented by the other students. Grading – Students will receive points for completion of each component of the course. The points are to be earned as follows: Journal – entries for 8 lectures @ 25 points each 200 points Journal – entries for 2 field trips @ 10 points each 20 Essay on Matewan movie 15 Mid-term 50 Final exam 50 Book report 50 Coal Heritage Trail Interpretation 25 Final Project 100 Total points available: 520 b
Grades will be given on the following distribution of points: 468 - 520 (90% - 100%) A 415 - 467 (80% - 89%) B 362 - 414 (70% - 79%) C 309 - 361 (60 % - 69%) D 0 - 308 (0% - 59%) F Class Schedule January 26 Review of course syllabus and assignments. Film: The Legacy of King Coal, a film by the History Channel February 2 Lecture: How to Collect Oral History. Discussion of individual projects.
Film: CoalCamp
Memories February 9 Lecture: Overview - Introduction to the history of labor and the industry of coal mining and the geology of coal. Film: Stories from the Mines: How Immigrant Miners Changed
AmericaFebruary 16 Lecture: Life and Work in the Early Coal Fields - 1880’s to 1921 including the technology of hand-loading, coal camps, immigration and diversity, Monongah. Film: Monangah, 1907 February 23 Lecture: Labor and Dissent in the Early Coal Fields - Cabin Creek-Paint Creek Strike, the Red Scare of the 1920’s, Mother Jones, Matewan and Blair Mountain Film: Even the Heaven’s Weep
March 2 Lecture: Depression to the 1950’s - Depression in America, FDR and the National Labor Relations Act, the Wagner Act, coal mine strikes in WWII, Farmington disaster, advent of mechanization, women coal miners. Class will read Kettle Bottom, poetry by Denise Gilliam Fisher March 9 Spring Break March 16 Book and Film Reports
March 23 Movie: Matewan March 30 Lecture: Change of Leadership - Retirement of John L. Lewis, Tony Boyle and Jock Yablonski, Arnold Miller and the Miners for Democracy, Church, Trumka and labor today. Guest speaker invited from UMWA April 6 Lecture: Environmental Concerns of Coal Mining Guest Speaker Dave Matchen,Concord
University faculty April 13 Coal Mining Today:Tour
Mining
Academy April 20 Lecture: Music and Cultural Arts of the Coal Fields April 27 Coal Heritage Trail – students will present their interpretation of the portion of the trail assigned to them May 4 Presentation of final projects May 11 Final
February 9th, 2009 at
It isn’t Homer Hickham who wrote Rocket Boys. It’s Homer Hickam.