Interview with Judi Jennings, May 17, 2018

Interview Summary

Jeffrey A. Keith interviews Judi Jennings, an Appalshop, Inc. board member, fund raiser, and the director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Jennings discusses her professorship at Union College, which she was hired for shortly after receiving her PhD in History from the University of Kentucky. Jennings discusses how her experiences at Union College, located in Barbourville, Kentucky, influenced her to become more involved in Appalachian scholarship. She tells Keith about her travels in London, England after leaving her professorship, and the positions in state government she worked in after returning to the United States. Jennings tells Keith how her grant writing experience from working at the Kentucky Humanities Council allowed her to join Appalshop as a fundraiser in the 1980s. Jennings recalls her contributions to and experiences with various Appalshop films, particularly “Strangers With A Camera” and “Strangers and Kin.” Jennings discusses the cultural and personal impact of these films on her life, as well as how their production affected the employees of Appalshop. Jennings discusses Appalshop culture, particularly in terms of gender and economic background. Jennings tells Keith about her life after working for Appalshop and her involvement after leaving the organization in 1991.

Interview Keyword

Appalachia Appalshop Union College Whitesburg, Kentucky Stranger With A Camera (Motion picture) Professorships Appalachian students Appalachian scholarship Career jobs Grant writing Government jobs Archives jobs Appalachian Region, Southern--Culture Roadside Theater Cultural films Strangers and Kin (Motion picture) Film screenings Appalachian stereotypes Appalachian towns Social relationships On Our Own Land (Motion picture) Broadform deed Films about coal Appalachian colonization War on Poverty Jeremiah (Ky.) Letcher County (Ky.) Ethics of film

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region Appalshop, Inc. Appalshop, Inc. Films Whitesburg (Ky.) Barbourville (Ky.) Union College (Barbourville, Ky.) Education--Kentucky Education, Higher--Kentucky Career changes Kentucky Humanities Council Proposal writing for grants Women political activists Politics and government Traveling theater Appalachian Region, Southern--Social life and customs. Appalachians (People) in motion pictures Ethnographic films. Motion pictures--Social aspects Regionalism--Appalachian Region Lexington (Ky.) Stereotypes (Social psychology) Whitesburg (Ky.) Coal mines and mining Gender Fund raisers (Persons) O'Connor, Hugh, 1894?-1967 Motion pictures--Philosophy Phenix, Lucy Massie Barret, Elizabeth Sundance Film Festival Motion pictures--Editing Documentary films Appalshop Film and Video Jennings, Judi 1947-

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.