Rural Sociology

Sociology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Garcia ◽  
Linda Lobao

Rural sociology is a unique area of sociological inquiry. Its institutional development leaves it perhaps the most independent of all sociological subfields. Rural sociology in the United States emerged in the early 20th century when federal funding was earmarked to the land grant universities (public universities) to study and assist the farm population. Separate “rural” sociology departments appeared gradually within colleges of agriculture that paralleled the substantive areas found in general sociology departments. Thus, one finds in rural sociology a replication of many core areas in general sociology but with a rural twist—inequality, demography, work/labor markets, race/ethnicity, gender, community, and so forth. Over time, additional rural-oriented specialty areas emerged, notably the sociology of agriculture and natural resource/environmental sociology. Rural sociology has also expanded globally. As a consequence, the substantive scope of contemporary research is large and varied. What knits the work together is a focus on the geographic periphery, that is, the places, populations, and forms of social activity found in rural areas globally which has provided boundary and meaning to the field. In addition to its broad substantive scope, rural sociology is characterized by a distinct research approach. Research tends to be comparative: rural places and populations are often set in contrast with regard to their urban counterparts to ascertain similarities and differences. In this way, rural sociological research is often said to challenge the urban bias of general sociology. Disciplinary practice is also distinct. While there are few departments with rural sociology in their name today, courses and specializations in the field are found across many land grant universities. There is a long tradition of cross-disciplinary linkages particularly with agricultural economics, the environmental sciences, and more recently geography. Rural sociologists have been highly active in federal, state, and local public policy circles and in public sociology efforts that contribute to community development, sustainable agricultural and food systems, and social and environmental justice. In terms of work in the profession, rural sociologists also work outside of colleges of agriculture, within government agencies, international development agencies, and across governmental and non-governmental institutions. Although rural populations will continue to decline globally, there is reason to think that rural sociology will have broad influence in the future because the research areas it encompasses are of growing interest to social scientists, policymakers, and the public at large. Issues addressed by rural sociologists pertaining to the sustainability of the food system, climate/environmental change, and rural poverty are among the most pressing public concerns today.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tobin ◽  
Rama Radhakrishna ◽  
Allison Chatrchyan ◽  
Shorna B. Allred

Abstract Climate change has serious implications for agricultural production, natural resource management, and food security. In the United States, land-grant universities and the U.S. Cooperative Extension System have a critical role to play in conducting basic and applied research related to climate change and translating findings into meaningful programming. However, land-grant universities and Extension have had difficulty maintaining their roles as the preeminent source of trusted information on complex topics like climate change. To help guide research and programming agendas of land-grant universities, the authors explored the barriers and priorities that researchers and Extension personnel at 16 northeastern land-grant universities perceive as they pursue climate change research and programming. Through an online survey, respondents indicated their perceptions of barriers related to information, workplace, and target audiences as well as the priorities they perceived as most important for land-grant universities to pursue. Statistical analysis indicated that lack of funding, lack of time, lack of locally relevant climate information, and challenges with target audiences were among the most critical barriers. In terms of future priorities, respondents indicated securing funding for applied research, training Extension educators, and developing locally relevant decision support tools as the most important activities northeastern land-grant universities can undertake. Based on these findings, this study concludes that land-grant universities will need to strategically pursue research and educational programming on climate change in ways that integrate research and Extension and simultaneously address climate change and other concerns of land managers.


1962 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 211-212
Author(s):  
V. H. Nielsen

The Centennial of the Land-Grant college system is fittingly observed by the International Association of Milk and Food Sanitarians as it will be by many other professional and scientific groups. Much of the initiative to establish systematic and uniform procedures in the examination of milk products and many contributions to the scientific basis for a sound milk sanitation program came from workers in Land-Grant universities. Through their academic and extension teaching, the Land-Grant universities created a force of industry workers, milk sanitarians and dairy farmers who together elaborated and enforced the high standards of milk sanitation which give consumers of milk and dairy products in the United States protection unequalled in the world and which is an essential requirement for the success of our milk industry.


2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott McLean ◽  
Gordon Thompson ◽  
Peter Jonker

In this paper, we describe the outreach and engagement movement in the United States and explore the implications of this movement for university continuing education units in Canada. Across the United States, major universities have adopted the vocabulary of “outreach and engagement” to foster a shift in the relationships of those universities with communities and organizations beyond the traditional boundaries of the institution. This vocabulary has its roots in the work of Ernest Boyer (1990, 1996) and the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities (1999, 2000). In the past decade, many American universities have adopted new leadership and organizational structures to make an operational commitment to outreach and engagement. In Canada, university continuing education units have traditionally been involved in activities that fit within the concept of outreach and engagement, and leaders of such units should consider the implications of the outreach and engagement movement.


Author(s):  
Lia Kelinsky-Jones ◽  
Kim Niewolny

Land-grant university and civil society development actors have long partnered with local and global communities to eliminate food insecurity. Despite the common aim of addressing food insecurity as a wicked problem, their approaches and designs differ in scope and scale. Similarly, levels of local stakeholder participation in agricultural development historically vary reflecting the complexity in relinquishing hierarchal decision-making power. In this pilot study, we investigated how participation is framed within the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) policy, “The Journey to Self-Reliance”. Subsequently, we sought to understand the implications of this framing on land-grant universities’ agricultural development aims in addressing global food security. We drew upon Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis and Pretty’s typology of participation in sustainable agriculture to analyze the inaugural speech launching the policy framework by the former USAID administrator. We also held two focus groups with development actors at two land-grant universities. Findings indicate local participation of governments, citizens, and civil society to be important. However, governmental participation may be contingent on accountability to both USAID and the private sector indicating an increased commitment to neoliberal ideology. The focus group themes identify self- reliance and its journey as prescriptive and at times, neocolonial, raising questions about participatory possibilities. The final theme illustrates land-grant praxis from participants as they advance visions for centering local partner needs through more equitable decision-making and resource sharing. We conclude with considerations for future research to more deeply understand the implications of “The Journey to Self-Reliance” policy through a CDA lens Keywords: Agro-ecology, Extension, Theory and Practice, Qualitative Research, Community Development


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