Coal and culture

Coal and culture

by William Faricy Condee

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"Coal and culture: Opera Houses in Appalachia is a critical appreciation of the opera house in the coal-mining region of Appalachia. Author William Faricy Condee demonstrates that these were multipurpose facilities that were central to the life of their communities. They housed little, if any, opera, but were used for almost everything else, including traveling theater, concerts, religious events, lectures, boxing matches, union meetings, and - if the auditorium had a flat floor - skating and basketball."--Jacket.

Discussion questions for Coal and culture

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  1. 1

    How does the book challenge or reshape your initial preconceptions about what an "opera house" meant to turn-of-the-century Appalachian communities versus urban cultural centers?

  2. 2

    In what ways did these multipurpose buildings serve as the secular and social "heart" of coal-mining towns, and how does that compare to community gathering spaces in your own life today?

  3. 3

    Condee highlights how these spaces hosted everything from traveling theater and lectures to union meetings and boxing matches; how do you think housing such a wide variety of events under one roof impacted community cohesion and class solidarity?

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