Bumper stickers as mobile geographies: a case study on the Friends of Coal campaign, Appalachian identity, and neoliberalism

This project examines the Friends of Coal (FOC) campaign as an example of the ideological and political shifts in the relationships of coal companies to the Appalachian region in the U.S. This article claims that the FOC bumper stickers, a key component of the marketing campaign, work as forms of mobile geography, claiming and performing Appalachian identity, as well as the b/orders of Appalachia as both a real and imagined political space. Looking at the use of FOC bumper stickers acknowledges the cultural place-making practices of individuals, but also the limitations of both identity and resistance under neoliberalism.