College of Arts and Sciences

The Mountain Studies Lecture Series was born out of the 2019 International Mountain Studies Symposium, hosted by the Center for Appalachian Studies. The one-day academic event brought together international scholars specializing in mountain studies across the globe to engage with students, faculty and the community at Appalachian State University's Boone campus.

Read more about the history of the Mountain Studies Lecture Series.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2026 Mountain Studies Lecture! Please stay tuned for details about the next Mountain Studies Lecture in Fall 2028.

The College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Anthropology hosted archaeologist Dr. María Nieves Zedeño as the 2026 Mountain Studies Lecture Series speaker on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. This visit fulfilled Zedeño's originally planned appearance for the 2024 Mountain Studies Lecture, which was canceled due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene.

During her time on campus, Zedeño engaged with students and faculty through several events, including visits to anthropology courses taught by Dr. Cameron Gokee and Dr. Alice Wright. She also presented a technical talk for the Department of Anthropology titled "The Materiality of Collective Action: Blackfoot Landscape Engineering." The presentation explored themes and methods central to anthropological and archaeological research and provided students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to engage more deeply with her scholarship.

Zedeño's visit culminated with the Mountain Studies Lecture, titled "Ninaistákis, Home of Thunder: Chief Mountain as a Blackfoot Chronotope." In her lecture, Zedeño examined the cultural, political, and spiritual significance of mountain landscapes through the example of Chief Mountain, known as Ninaistákis in the Blackfoot tradition. Drawing on decades of collaborative research with Blackfoot communities, she discussed how the mountain has served as both a landmark and a sacred place for generations of mobile bison hunters. Zedeño connected archaeological evidence with oral traditions and living ceremonial practices to illustrate how landscapes can embody history, identity, and belonging across time. She argued that Chief Mountain functions as a chronotope, a place where time and space converge, preserving community memory while continuing to shape contemporary cultural life.