During this Community of Practice, PhD Candidate Maggie Davis will discuss how her sense of home has been impacted by her field research on the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia.

Maggie will describe her own relationship to West Virginia, and discuss how understanding West Virginia and Appalachia as “home” informs her interpretation of field research. As a qualitative sociologist, Maggie goes into the field as a participant observer and conducts interviews. Maggie will share insights into her research and invite questions from the group, including:

– What research questions are important to you, whether in this presentation or not?

– Does a connection to home inform our understanding of our relationship to the fossil fuel industry and to systems of “expertise”? How and why?

– In West Virginia, people often talk about natural gas extraction and infrastructure through the lens of economic opportunity, while also acknowledging environmental and safety risks. Are others finding this in their work? If so, how do others relate to this puzzle, understand it, work around it?

The Community of Practice is a virtual multimedia reflection group to raise awareness and foster relationships for community empowerment on issues such as environmental protection, energy alternatives, the just transition framework, liberatory mindsets, and social justice. This is grown from our former book club but expanded to include other forms of media. We want this to be more creative, encompassing, and dynamic to appeal to a wider audience and engage new people.

We will be partnering with creators when possible to share media (books, graphic novels, poetry, films, etc.) that share stories, context, and strategies to foster discussion and inspire community members to take actions towards a better future.

These meetings and conversations will be held virtually to ensure the most accessibility to our communities.

At the end of a discussion, we will ask “What will you take home with you?”.