A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in The Hunger Games

by Thomas W. Paradis

Overview

When creating her post-apocalyptic world of The Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins drew from various real-world history and geography, particularly from Appalachia, which is reflected in the culture and location of District 12. With the release of her 2019 prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Collins brought readers deeper into Appalachia's extraordinary cultural diversity and its storied musical traditions.

This book provides a tour of human geography, history and culture that establishes the foundation for the saga's novels and films. Told from the expertise of a geographer, it explores how place can shape culture, how social and geographical concepts intersect and how these ideas apply to The Hunger Games. Specifically, the work explores the idea of "home," and how attachment to a place is strengthened through landscape, geography and song.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476687285
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	02/02/2022
Pages:	250
Sales rank:	692,697
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas W. Paradis is a professor of geography and community planning at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he teaches a first-year seminar titled “Unpacking the Hunger Games.” His previous publications include numerous books and articles related to urban and small-town development, cultural landscapes, and architectural history.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction

Part I: Setting the Geographic Stage 1. District 12 of Central Appalachia
2. Places and Spaces of District 12
3. Katniss at Home
4. An Appalachian Melting Pot
5. Small Town in Panem
6. Portraying the Seam
7. Designing a Capital City
8. Panem as World System

Part II: The Music of District 12 9. The Ballads of Appalachia
10. Mountain String Bands
11. District 12 Goes Country
12. Bluegrass and the Covey
13. Building a Bluegrass Sound
14. A National Audience
15. Maude Ivory the Songbird

Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index