The Changing American Countryside: Rural People and Places / Edition 1

by Emery N. Castle

Overview

The literature on rural America, to the extent that it exists, has largely been written by urban-based scholars perpetuating out-of-date notions and stereotypes or by those who see little difference between rural and agricultural concerns. As a result, the real rural America remains much misunderstood, neglected, or ignored by scholars and policymakers alike. In response, Emery Castle offers The Changing American Countryside, a volume that will forever change how we look at this important subject.

Castle brings together the writings of eminent scholars from several disciplines and varying backgrounds to take a fresh and comprehensive look at the "forgotten hinterlands." These authors examine the role of non-metropolitan people and places in the economic life of our nation and cover such diverse issues as poverty, industry, the environment, education, family, social problems, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, government, public policy, and regional diversity

The authors are especially effective in demonstrating why rural America is so much more than just agriculture. It is in fact highly diverse, complex, and interdependent with urban America and the international market place. Most major rural problems, they contend, simply cannot be effectively addressed in isolation from their urban and international connections. To do so is misguided and even hazardous, when one-fourth of our population and ninety-seven per cent of our land area is rural.

Together these writings not only provide a new and more realistic view of rural life and public policy, but also suggest how the field of rural studies can greatly enrich our understanding of national life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700607259
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	11/30/1995
Series:	Rural America Series
Pages:	584
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.31(d)

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Foreword, Clifton Wharton, Jr.

Acknowledgments

Part 1—An Introduction

1. The Forgotten Hinterlands, Emery N. Castle

Part 2—Reading the Land: Literature and the Countryside

2. Land and Word: American Pastoral, William Howarth

Part 3—Change in Countryside

3. The Urban Invasion of Rural America: The Emergence of the Galactic City, Peirce Lewis

4. “Rural” and “Farm” No Longer Mean the Same, John Fraser Hart

5. Population Change in Nonmetropolitan America, Glenn V. Fuguitt

Part 4—Money, Jobs, and Space

6. The Location of Economic Activity in Rural and Nonmetropolitan United States, Edwin S. Mills

7. The Use and Management of Rural Space, Pierre Crosson

8. Extractive Industries and Rural-Urban Economic Interdependence, Bruce A. Weber

9. Finding Rural Success: The New Rural Economic Landscape and Its Implications, Mark Drabenstott and Tim R. Smith

10. Understanding Trends in Rural Labor Markets, Gene F. Summers, Francine Horton, and Christina Gringeri

Part —Distress and Poverty

11. Persistent Rural Poverty, Gene F. Summers

12. The Determinants of Rural and Urban Poverty, Thomas A. Hirschl and David L. Brown

13. Why Rural Poverty is Growing Worse: Similar Causes in Diverse Settings, Janet M. Fitchen

Part 6—Regional and Ethnic Diversity

14. Conflict and Change on the Landscapes of the Arid American West, Paul F. Starrs

15. Rural Latinos: Evolving Conditions and Issues, Refugio I. Rochin

16. American Indian Economic Development, C. Matthew Snipp

17. The Rural South: A Historical View, Charles S. Aiken

18. African-Americans in the Rural South: The Persistence of Racism and Poverty, Bruce B. Williams and Bonnie Thornton Dill

19. The Rural People of the Midwest, Sonya Salamon

Part 7—Group Decision Making in the Countryside: The Social and Institutional Context

20. Social Organization in the Countryside, Daryl Hobbs

21. Structures and Patterns of Rural Governance, Ronald J. Oakerson

22. Rural Education and Training: Myths and Misconceptions Dispelled, Ruy A. Teixeira

23. Linking Education and Community Development: Rural and Inner City Strategies, Joan Fitzgerald

24. Rural Education: Decentering the Consolidation Debate, David R. Reynolds

25. Living with the Minimum: Rural Public Policy, William P. Browne and Louis E. Swanson

Part 8—Conclusion

26. An Overview, Emery N. Castle

References Cited

About the Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Designed to correct urban writers’ misleading impressions of rural America and to inform rural policymakers, the study is replete with statistics, analyses, and useful suggestions for rural planners."—Journal of the West

"The breadth of this book’s coverage is impressive and the quality of the individual chapters is high."—Journal of Regional Science

"This collection of 25 essays, organized in seven parts, provides an admirable survey of the most important issues that will enhance general understanding of rural problems and aid the formulation of public policy for the countryside."—Western Historical Quarterly

"Scholars of rural America will welcome The Changing American Countryside with open arms."—Annals of Iowa

"Very few studies address the whole of rural America in the comprehensive manner of this volume. A valuable and significant endeavor."—Dwight Billings, author of Planters and the Makers of a New South

"An outstanding volume on rural affairs. If the Country Life Commission had been formed 90 years later, in 1998, its members might have used this book for their manual. Like the walls of a one-room schoolhouse, the covers of this book enclose or touch everything you need to know about rural America."—Gene Wunderlich, USDA Economic Research Service

From the Publisher

A collection of readings across disciplines on life in rural America and the role of rural people and places in the economic life of the country, emphasizing the differences between rural and agricultural concerns. Examines rural poverty, looks at regional and ethnic diversity in rural areas, and analyzes the wealth of rural America in the context of money, jobs, and space. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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