Elizabeth Giddens

Elizabeth Giddens is a professor of English and professional writing at Kennesaw State University. Her scholarship focuses on Appalachian environmental history, Indigenous studies, and sustainability narratives. In 2023, she published the book Oconaluftee: The History of a Smoky Mountain Valley with UNC Press, examining the cultural and ecological transformations of the Oconaluftee Valley through archival research and interdisciplinary analysis.

• Education: Ph.D. (English, University of Tennessee, 1990), M.A. (English, University of Tennessee, 1983), B.A. (English, University of Tennessee, 1980)

Her research spans colonial-era Indigenous displacement, 19th-century land use, Civil War impacts on Appalachian communities, and 20th-century environmental conservation movements. She explores themes of cross-cultural cooperation, resilience in marginalized communities, and the intersection of human history with ecological change.

The book Oconaluftee has been honored with the Georgia Author of the Year Award in History (2024) and the North Carolina Genealogical Society's Award for Excellence in Publishing (2024). It has also received finalist recognition for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and The Weatherford Award for Appalachian nonfiction.

• Recent Publications:
  • "Solastalgizing the Georgia Coast" (2020) - Analyzes emotional responses to coastal landscape degradation through art
  • "Sustainability Education and Organizational Change" (2019) - Examines institutional barriers to sustainability integration in higher education

She has presented her work nationally, including at the Appalachian Studies Conference and the ASLE/ALECC joint conference, addressing topics ranging from Cherokee displacement to 21st-century community lessons from historical land practices.