Rediscovering The Souths Celtic Heritage

Download or read book Rediscovering the South's Celtic Heritage written by Barry Vann and published by The Overmountain Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fabled in American history, the Scotch-Irish played a principal role in settling the Southern Appalachian Mountains. From the original settlers sprang a culture based on their Old World ways; along with their daily habits, they brought with them a reverence for the King James Bible and the land providing their sustenance. Isolated in mountain pockets, the culture existed on the periphery of mainstream America until the late 20th century. In Rediscovering the South's Celtic Heritage, author Barry Vann explores the roots and branches of America's pioneering Celts, following their influence through the ages to the present day, setting forth the bold theory that the Celts in America form a distinct ethnic group separate from the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture. -- from back cover.

Download or read book Crossroads written by Ted Olson and published by Mercer University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-15 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: C.1 GIFT BY NANCY MCLENDON, IN MEMORY OF ELIZAH COLEMAN GLOVER. 2-07-2008. $20.00.

Download or read book In Search of Ulster-Scots Land written by Barry Vann and published by Univ of South Carolina Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social and religious historians have conducted much research on Scottish colonial migrations to Ulster; however, there remains historical debate as to whether the Irish Sea in the seventeenth century was an intervening obstacle or a transportation artery. Vann presents a geographical perspective on the topic, showing that most population flows involving southwest Scotland during the first half of the seventeenth century were directed across the Irish Sea via centuries-old sea routes that had allowed for the formation of evolving cultural areas. As political or religious motivational factors presented themselves in the last half of that century, Vann holds, the established social and familial links stretched along those sea routes facilitated chain migration that led to the birth of a Protestant Ulster-Scots community. Vann also shows how this community constituted itself along religious and institutional rubrics of dissent from the Church of England, Church of Scotland, and Church of Ireland.

Download or read book From Azaleas to Zydeco written by Mark W. Nichols and published by Butler Center Books. This book was released on 2014-02-01 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by a 1937 map and travelogue of a newspaperman’s tour, author Mark W. Nichols embarked on his own long journey into the unique cities of the South. En route he met beekeepers, cheese makers, crawfish “bawlers,” duck callers, and a licensed alligator hunter, as well as entrepreneurs and governors. His keen observations encompass the southern states from Virginia to Arkansas and points south, and he unpacks the unique qualities of every city he visits. “It’s easy to say that getting to meet so many interesting and wonderful people was the best part of the journey--because it’s true,” Nichols writes. “I know there are friendly people everywhere, but southern friendliness is different.” His story embraces a wealth of southern charm from local characters, folklore, and customs to food, music, and dancing. Besides being just plain fun to read, Nichols’s account of his journey gives readers a true taste of the flavor of the evolving modern South.

Download or read book Forces of Nature written by Barry A. Vann and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2012-03-20 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As long as the human species has existed, men and women have had to contend with the unpredictable forces of nature. Geographer Barry A. Vann brings a unique perspective to this age-old struggle in this illuminating overview of human population shifts and their precarious relationship with climate change and geography. Vann takes us on a journey along the migration routes of the earliest modern humans and tells why our ancestors chose to settle down in places that can be best described as natural utopias. In the religiously oriented worldview of ancient peoples, such places took on a sacred aura of divine favor. Similarly, destructive events such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes were interpreted as expressions of divine wrath. Vann shows how the ancient texts of the Bible and the Qur’an offer glimpses of past climates that were distinctly different from the climate of our time. He also discusses the rise of technology as a means of controlling the threatening features of the natural world. Though technology has enabled humanity to cope with hostile climates, it has also created a false sense of security. Vann notes that population clusters are increasing in dangerous areas and that no technology can protect vulnerable groups from major-category hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes. Finally, he considers our current anxieties regarding global warming, pointing out that this focus has obscured a good deal of historical and geological evidence for a return of another ice age. The Forces of Nature offers a challenging perspective on the precarious balance between fragile human communities and their often-threatening environments.

Download or read book Puritan Islam written by Barry A. Vann and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2011-09-27 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unique analysis of Muslim population shifts in the Western world, geographer Barry A. Vann provides fresh insights into the theological factors that play into these demographic trends. Vann examines the “imagined geographies” of Muslims with a puritan orientation. People with this mind-set are little inclined to accept a pluralistic, multicultural, live-and-let-live concept of society. And conflicts between conflicting value systems are almost inevitable. Vann notes that this purist approach to Islam is certainly not universal among Muslims, and there are many varying interpretations that are more moderate in outlook. Nonetheless, the undeniable theological background of all Muslim communities colors their values and attitudes, and must be taken into consideration when attempting to understand the potential conflicts between contiguous Muslim and non-Muslim groups. Given the fact that the population of Muslim immigrants is growing in traditionally Christian and increasingly secular countries of the Western world while the resident populations are either stagnant or declining, Vann’s insightful analysis of the ways in which Islam influences perceptions of community and geography is of great relevance.

Download or read book Mountain Mysteries written by Larry D. Thacker and published by The Overmountain Press. This book was released on 2006-11 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A near-obsessive pursuit of ghost stories and odd superstitions cranks up this serious study of Appalachian tales of the supernatural and their origin in both old-world customs and real historical events. An effort to preserve and record one aspect of a dying way of life, the book relies on interviews and historic documents to search for the facts behind local lore of murder, witchcraft, and weird hauntings. Several campfire-worthy ghost stories are recounted in their entirety—including "The Swinging Gate of Fern Lake Hollow"—and an unexpectedly large number of stories about aliens and UFOs provide an interesting comparison of three-century-old mysteries and those stirred up in comparatively recent times