UK sociology professor Shannon Bell and University of Oregon sociology professor Richard York received recognition for the Best Article by the Rural Sociological Society. Bell’s work currently focuses on the barriers to local participation in the environmental justice movement in response to mountaintop removal in Central Appalachia.

The article, “Community Economic Identity: The Coal Industry and Ideology Construction in West Virginia,” was published in the March 2010 issue of Rural Sociology. Using the Appalachian coal industry as a case study, the article explores the relationship between capitalist modes of production and ecological destruction, chronicling the ways in which declines in industry jobs and the rising tide of protest against mining practices have challenged the coal industry’s hold on political power.