Agriculture and the rural life it has supported are at the core of Appalachian culture and history and have played a significant role in defining the region's changing relationship with the world.

The architectural legacy of Appalachia includes the most basic building blocks of architectural forms and the latest in faddish modern styles.

Appalachia has traditionally been more dependent on blue-collar jobs and manufacturing than the rest of the country, but as heavy manufacturing declines there has been an increase in service industries.

Handcrafted objects in Appalachia serve utilitarian, aesthetic, economic, and symbolic functions. Just like music and religious practices, they tap into the wellsprings of the region's culture and provide an unmatched perspective on its history.

As in the rest of the nation, a mission to perpetuate the arts and culture through the form of art museums, public libraries, art councils, theaters, concert societies, and colleges has taken root across Appalachia.

While family and culture are the primary reasons that people return to Appalachia, emotional attachment to the land also brings them back.

The scope of education in Appalachia is as broad as the region itself, and has been shaped by government policies, initiatives, and mandates along with formal and informal education.

Although the excess during the years of the Industrial Revolution ravaged the lands, it also stirred concern for the region's natural resources.

Although much of Appalachia's population has concentrated in urban areas in the last 40 years, the small towns and communities of the region continue to be inhabited by families who have lived there for hundreds of years and have personal connections to local history.

Although the concept of folklore is complicated, and used to describe cultures that are not modern, it is constantly changing and evolving.

The story of foodways in Appalachia is a saga of dislocation and change, as Appalachians have followed their fellow Americans out of the garden and into the grocery store or fast-food restaurant.

To early settlers, Appalachia seemed to be a place without any government, but since the eighteenth century government has expanded steadily, following no set pattern, other than being deeply influenced by forces from outside the region.

Nowhere in America are the contrasts greater than Appalachia when it comes to health care.

Appalachian humor generally reflects the region's culture, often making light of deeply held values, social icons, habits, and stereotypes.

Despite negative stereotypes, Appalachia has been the source of many of America's most treasured icons, including David Crockett and Daniel Boone. History suggests that Appalachia will remain a place of special interest in American culture, its images rekindled by movies, books, and songs as well as social and political events.

Labor in Appalachia has historically reflected the class and economic diversity of the region and in order to understand work relations in Appalachia one must have an understanding of its place in the world capitalist system.

Appalachian speech is characterized by distinctive sounds, syntax, and originality that has fascinated outsiders for more than a century and a half.

In many ways, Appalachia is a textual construct, revealed in the writings of authors, both native and non-native,whose texts are the primary materials for that process of regional invention.

Media is often used to highlight the visceral place Appalachia holds in the consciousness of the public and to shape the perceptions of the region and its people.

When Europeans migrated to the Appalachians, they brought their cultures with them in songs, stories, musical instruments, and dances. With every passing generation, folk traditions have been strengthened, becoming richer and more deeply embedded in the region's cultural life.

Racial, ethnic, and cultural assimilation begin in Appalachia long before European dominance, or even settlement, of the region.

Religion has been one of the most powerful and defining forces in Appalachia's culture, from the earliest days of settlement to the continuing urbanization and industrialization of the modern day.

The first migrants into Appalachia were Native American Indians that came from the West, following their food sources in seasonal hunts. This lead to the establishment of villages and ceremonial sites.

In conspicuous and often subtle ways, the Appalachian Mountains have defined both competitive sports and leisure pursuits.

As the service economy expands throughout Appalachia, tourism looms large in the region's postindustrial economy.

From early on, transportation has been the most constant, expensive, and challenging issue of public policy in Appalachia.

In order to have a complete understanding of Appalachia, it is important to understand the distribution of its urban population. Demographic trends suggest that Appalachians will continue to become more urbanized in the future.

The factors that distinguish the arts in Appalachia from those in the rest of the country are similar to those that distinguish the region in other disciplines.