Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Model is one of the most used frameworks for research in evolutionary archaeology. It assesses how populations adopt innovations and how innovations spread between groups. The model emphasizes social and community communication networks as well as adoption phases that include testing and potentially adapting an innovation to better fit a population's needs.
However, I believe that this model assumes a level of personal and community agency and access that is simply not present in many populations in our post-industrial, globalized world. I use rural Appalachia as a case study for constrained or limited agency due to its rugged landscape, historical social separation, and the overwhelming presence of extractive industries such as coal and timber that build economically and socially predatory company towns. I theorize that in areas of constrained or limited agency Rogers model may not so neatly apply, and may need potential adaptations itself to better fit these populations.
Mentor Name
Dr. Anna Prentiss
SR Williams GradCon 2026 Presentation Recording
Adoption Under Constraint: Testing Rodger’s Diffusion of Innovation Model in Rural Appalachia
UC 326
Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Model is one of the most used frameworks for research in evolutionary archaeology. It assesses how populations adopt innovations and how innovations spread between groups. The model emphasizes social and community communication networks as well as adoption phases that include testing and potentially adapting an innovation to better fit a population's needs.
However, I believe that this model assumes a level of personal and community agency and access that is simply not present in many populations in our post-industrial, globalized world. I use rural Appalachia as a case study for constrained or limited agency due to its rugged landscape, historical social separation, and the overwhelming presence of extractive industries such as coal and timber that build economically and socially predatory company towns. I theorize that in areas of constrained or limited agency Rogers model may not so neatly apply, and may need potential adaptations itself to better fit these populations.