Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Appalachian Studies
Date of Award
12-2025
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Rebecca Adkins-Fletcher
Committee Members
Julie Fox-Horton, Ted Olson
Abstract
The study addresses the critical need to document Appalachian folk medicine conventions and cultural practices from a modern perspective. In so doing, it addresses folk medicine research gaps in understudied places in South Central Appalachia, particularly in Southwestern Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. This research utilizes participant observation and oral history interviews to research modern Appalachian folk medicine practices among a select group of practitioners. Interviews focused on individuals who center their professional careers and subsequent lifestyles around herbalism, foraging, folk medicine, ethnobotany, and botanicals. By utilizing a critical praxis framework, the study seeks to move beyond lists of symptoms and treatments to emphasize the cultural traditions surrounding folk medicine practices. Finally, this study places modern Appalachian folk medicine within broader historical and global modern traditions of folk medicine as an evolving part of health practices and economic strategies.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Horton, Stacey M., "The People’s Medicine: Modern Perspectives on Folk Medicine in South Central Appalachia" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4594. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4594
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
