According to its web site, “The Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) was formed in 1977 by a group of scholars, teachers, and regional activists who believed that shared community has been and will continue to be important to those writing, researching, and teaching about Appalachia.
The Appalachian Studies Association's mission is to encourage study, advance scholarship, disseminate information, and enhance communication between Appalachian peoples, their communities, governmental organizations, and educational institutions.”[1] The organization hosts an annual academic conference.
It also publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Appalachian Studies,[2][3] maintains a website, serves as a community for persons interested in writing, researching, and teaching about Appalachia, and acts as a clearinghouse for information about the Appalachian region.
“For the first time,” wrote Appalachian scholar and activist Steve Fisher, “academicians who had felt isolated in fighting the battle for Appalachian Studies…realized that there was a network of people fighting the same battle”.
[4] A parallel effort was launched in 2002 with Wheeling Jesuit University's Appalachian Institute, in accord with the goals set out in two pastoral letters of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.