Toward a Rural Philosophy of Education

This essay calls for the development of a rural philosophy of education and outlines considerations toward that end. Questioning the applicability of current school reform initiatives to rural education, the essay draws on the work of rural philosopher Wendell Berry, educational historian Paul Theobald, and other rural scholars to outline considerations for the development of such an education philosophy. Education policy issues, rural history, and current economic, political, and cultural challenges are presented. Differences, strengths, and needs of rural education are highlighted as considerations that must be addressed in the formation of a philosophy of rural education.

Gender and Rural History: A Roundtable

The aim of this debate article is to promote a discussion of a historiographical nature (not ideological, not political) about the meaning, place and role of gender in both the rural past and the rural historiography. The discussion revolves around a variety of questions, ranging from the relevance, the opportunity and the very history of the use of gender category in rural history, to the analysis of gender (im)balances in the community of historians working in this broadly defined field of studies, not to mention the very definition of what is meant by gender. These and other related topics, for which there are no single or definitive answers, are debated here in a roundtable format.

The Eternal Peasant and the Timeless Village. Archaeology and Ideologies of the Past

The perspectives on the medieval village and on the historical role of peasants have changed throughout the history of research. Traditional views on history saw rural life as unchangeable and therefore presumed that villages were rooted in the migration period. Modern research recognised the formation of the medieval village as a complex long-term process that, depending on the region, culminated in the 11th – 13th century. This paper takes a closer look at the situation in southwestern Germany, analysing research history on the one hand and selected episodes of medieval rural history on the other. The paper suggests that due to traditional views on the structure of history, peasants’ agency has been undervalued.

Conceptualising place in historical fact and creative fiction: rural communities and regional landscapes in Bernard Samuel Gilbert’s ‘Old England’ (c. 1910–1920)

The theme of place guides much exploration in rural history and local history. Attempts have been made to create definitions and typologies of place, but these have had to contend with the diverse, complex and dynamic realities of historical pattern and process, local and regional. Nonetheless, historians and those in other disciplines have evolved different approaches to the concept. This study considers how these can inform the investigation of places existing in historical fact in particular periods in the past, and can do similarly for those places located contemporaneously in fictional constructions. Reference is made to various academic writings on place, including by the local historian, David Dymond. The analysis takes the work of the author of fiction, Bernard Samuel Gilbert. Gilbert, although relatively obscure now, incorporated a feature of special note into his later literary output, and one meriting greater attention. This was his personalised, reflective and explicitly articulated approach to forming and expressing place. Moreover, Gilbert’s ‘Old England’, with its imaginary district of 'Bly', can be recognised as corresponding to landscapes and communities existing more broadly in the years up to and through the First World War, and with creations by other authors of regional fiction.

From haciendas to rural elites: Agriculture and economic development in the historiography of rural Mexico

A historiographical overview is presented in this work, in relation to two key issues in Mexican rural history: the hacienda and the social actors that moved the agricultural sector, particularly the rural elites. This analysis begins with the classic works of François Chevalier and Charles Gibson, then provides an overview of different approaches (functionalist, sectorial, regional, neo-institutional, business and environmental) to analysing the hacienda. The study focuses on the historiography of rural (or agrarian) elites and its remarkable presence in recent academic works. The authors contend that Mexican agrarian historiography has overflowed its regional geographic scope to become a reference for Latin American historical studies. The development of agrarian studies in Mexico, especially in relation to the hacienda system, stems from the interest in explaining the agrarian nature of the Revolution of 1910. Diverse and even contradictory interpretations have been proposed, which in perspective have allowed huge historiographical advances.

Introduction

With immense gratitude to the large number of people who, in several countries and across three continents, have contributed so generously their effort, initiative and commitment to this editorial project, we are pleased to present the journal Historia Agraria de América Latina (HAAL). The main purpose of this journal is to promote and disseminate research and interdisciplinary debate on the history of rural societies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our editorial perspective is informed by a wide-ranging conception of agrarian history as a complex and diverse field of research. We seek to disseminate works on a wide range of topics, processes and problems, from technical and economic issues, such as production methods in the ever-challenging field of “cows and plows agricultural history”, to cultural representations of the “countryside”, which are often politically charged and not always so subtle or sophisticated. A journal with this perspective, we think, will help not only to better understand the rural past, but also to reflect on the societies in which we live. At the same time, this journal aims to be a point of encounter for agrarian historiographies in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are interested in publicizing the research being carried out in different countries, but also in promoting dialogue on theoretical-methodological approaches and historiographic debates. In that respect, our aim is for national, regional and local rural histories to gain relevance beyond their empirical content and use within comparative research, by providing ideas and strategies that can be adopted and adapted to advance the study of agrarian history in other countries, regions and places. To facilitate this encounter among the region’s historiographies–sometimes quite unknown beyond their own national borders–the journal will publish articles and book reviews in Spanish, Portuguese and English, the principal languages in which those who study the rural history of our region write, read and engage in academic discussion. Furthermore, this journal seeks to promote interdisciplinary dialogue; works in economics, anthropology, political science, sociology, cultural studies and other disciplines, that examine rural society from an historical perspective, will also be welcome. Here, we invite you to begin with the first issue. Anna Cant & Claudio Robles Co-editors of the first issue of HAAL

The agrarian historiography of Chile: Foundational interpretations, conventional reiterations, and critical revisionism

This article examines the development of Chilean agrarian historiography in the last four decades, by means of an introductory overview organized as a chronological reconstruction. It selectively focuses on relevant authors and works, the problems and questions they addressed, their main arguments and contributions, as well as their flaws and limitations. In doing so, the article constructs debates that never took place, because development of this field has been limited by the scarcity of specialized works, the different contexts in which they were produced, and the lack of institutional spaces for systematic debate. Agrarian historiography has only recently become a distinctive discipline in Chile and is therefore an incipient field. In the last fifteen years, a new revisionist agrarian historiography has begun to revitalize the study of Chilean rural history through critical dialogue with foundational interpretations from the 1970s, leaving behind the conventional reiterations of the 1980s.

SEJARAH TERBENTUKNYA DESA BANGKALI KECAMATAN WATOPUTE KABUPATEN MUNA : 1976-2017

This study aims to describe the history of the formation of Bangkali Village, Watopute District, Muna Regency. The method used in the study was the historical method developed by Kuntowijoyo through five stage of work, namely: (1) Topic Selection, (2) Collection of cources, (3) references verification (critical sources throught external and internal critical sources) and (4) sources Interpretation (analysis and synthesis) and (5) Historiography (historycal writing). The lliterature review in this study consisted of the conceptual framework and the theoretical framework. The conceptual framework used the concept of regional expansion, the concept of rural history, and the concept of village and village governance. The theoretical framework used elite circulation theory. The findings of the research showed that: (1) Bangkali Village was formed due to consideration of the area and population density conditions which were sufficient to be expanded. (2) The process of establishing Bangkali Village, namely: (a) It was begun with government policy that each hamlet far from the parent village must be divided so that it is easy in the administrative process. (b) Support from the village community and community leaders to immediately propose the division of the village to the regional government. Then, Bangkali Village was formed on April 15th, 1976 through decree number 27 of 1976 concerning the division of villages in Wali Village. (3) The development of Bangkali Village in 1976-2017 in general showed a fairly good development in the fields of politics, general government, infrastructure, and economy. Keyword: History, Background, Process and Development