Charting Trends in Rural Sociology: 1986–1995

Abstract Christenson and Garkovich (1985) reported on trends in the first 50 years of Rural Sociology; this note employs a similar analytic framework for the 292 articles and research commentaries published from 1986 to 1995. While particular topics ebb and flow in terms of their importance, there continues to be a consistent focus on the substantive issues of traditional concern. Predictions in 1985 as to what the next retrospective would show proved to be fairly accurate. Applied empirical and quantitative studies continue to dominate the pages of the journal, but other types (e.g., qualitative and historical studies) now appear with greater frequency. The theoretical foundation of rural sociology has been enriched with conceptual frameworks from general sociology and other social sciences. New twists on the traditional concerns of agricultural constituencies and rural community leaders have broadened the range of topics addressed, reflecting the major social structures, processes, and issues currently affecting rural peoples and communities. The article concludes with an interpretation of recent trends and speculations on future directions.     

Problematization and de-problematization – 30 years of cultural studies and cultural criticism in mainland China

ABSTRACT

In the past 30 years, cultural studies in mainland China has developed its own history, theoretical characteristics and problem framework with the introduction of Western theory, discussion of Chinese issues and active dialogue with international cultural studies scholars. The studies of sociology, philosophy and politics have overlapped with cultural studies in problems such as rural governance, class research, the bottom society research, gender politics and consumer society theory. Chinese cultural studies started with a critical consciousness, then activated the drives of anti-authoritarianism and generated an illusion of emergency. Today, it has outgrown the paradigm of the 1950s, and must establish new theories and thoughts on the basis of a new sense of criticism at this moment.     

On “Methodological Monism” in Rural Sociology1

Abstract This paper is a brief outline of the history of methods in rural sociology which suggests that the dominant methodological practice results from institutional arrangements and the traditions of the academic culture, as well as commitment to a scientific sociology. I note oft-stated critiques of the positivist model relevant to rural sociology's “methodological monism,” including imprecise measurement, low levels of predictability, and a social psychological orientation. I suggest, in addition, that methodological homogeneity in rural sociology presents social life as social facts rather than social process, leads to a simplistic understanding of the interview, and separates the researcher from the experience of research. A wider methodological orientation would, I suggest, encourage the examination of a wider range of issues and encourage wider participation in a subdiscipline which, because of its particular history, has developed in isolation from mainstream sociology.     

Rediscovering Families and Households: Restructuring Rural Society and Rural Sociology1

Abstract The debate on rural restructuring is extended by redefining families and households and their study; by considering the contributions of family scholarship to rural sociological issues; by assessing the methodological implications and challenges of integrating a family focus in rural sociology; and by reengaging rural sociology around important policy issues. The structure and dynamics of family and household shape explanations of rural experiences. By integrating and building on family studies, rural sociology can enrich its knowledge base and further its relevance and power of explanation.     

Rethinking the European countryside—can we learn from the South?

A new paradigm of multi-dimensional rural development has emerged which advocates a broader conception of the rurality where the rural is no longer the monopoly of the farmer. This new, broader paradigm needs to be reflected in the methodology of social scientific research, both generic and applied. In this paper we are primarily concerned with transfer of research methodologies utilised in development studies in the South to explore their usefulness for rethinking the European countryside. Such a transfer of methodology may be helpful, because integrated rural development can build on a long legacy in the South, while it has only recently been advocated in the EU context. The paper reflects upon the application of two such analytical concepts originating from development studies, which we have applied for research on the rural geographies in the European countryside, namely Sen's livelihood capabilities approach and Chambers’ concept of participatory rural appraisal (PRA). Having the sustainable livelihoods approach as overall framework, both methodologies are qualitative in nature and address people's survival strategies and livelihood practices with a focus on micro-level analysis at individual, household (Sen) and community level (PRA), while reflecting their embeddedness in wider social, political and economic structures. Our comparative studies suggest that the prospects for bottom-up development, as orchestrated by PRA or similar approaches, is constrained by structural factors, which define the boundaries for local development. The capabilities approach is useful to detect the capabilities to act and be within which bottom-up approaches may take their—though limited—role in rural development.     

Where's the Farmer? Limiting Liability in Midwestern Industrial Hog Production

Scholars largely assume that hog production is following the same industrialization process as the integrated poultry industry. Since the collapse of hog farming in the 1990s, academics have anticipated that producers will eventually become trapped in contracts that leave the integrator with full control over the production process. Embedded in this prediction is an assumption that hog farmers respond to these productive pressures individually. Our analysis of the Carthage Management System suggests a different path for the hog commodity chain. The Carthage Management System is a conglomeration of business management firms that bring finishing hog farmers together to form limited liability corporations (LLCs) in the breed‐to‐wean stage of hog production. We use a sociology of agrifood framework to suggest that the nuances of hog production encourage the use of what we call folding corporations to limit liability in ways that profoundly transform the family farm. Corporations and individual hog farmers alike employ this creative LLC structure to deflect responsibility for the risks of hog production. We identify how folding corporations externalize the costs of production onto rural communities. Additional research is needed to better understand unfolding farmer identities, legal protections for farmers, how widespread organizational structures like Carthage Management System are, and their consequences for rural communities and the industrialization process.     

Sociology’s Sacred Victims and the Politics of Knowledge: Moral Foundations Theory and Disciplinary Controversies

The field of sociology has long been subject to critique for alleged ideological bias and left-wing groupthink linked to its social justice mission. Critics contend that the construction of “sacred victims” by progressive intellectuals hinders their ability to objectively appraise the circumstances of such vulnerable groups. To address this criticism, we survey 479 sociologists in national universities and colleges in the U.S. regarding three sensitive controversies: urban poverty in the black community; gendered differences in occupational choices; and immigration. We find significant patterns in the data. Commitment to the field’s “moral mission,” preferred research paradigm, gender, and especially political orientation are all significant predictors of sociologists’ views. The results, we suggest, can be understood by conceptualizing the field of sociology as an “emotive community.” In doing so, we draw upon current social psychological research on moral foundations theory developed by Jonathan Haidt and colleagues.     

WORKING WITH PIERRE BOURDIEU IN THE TOURISM FIELD MAKING A CASE FOR ‘THIRD WORLD’ TOURISM

Tourism in the ‘third world’ is seen as a consumption of culture, and attempts at investigating it within a cultural studies framework have not adequately addressed key social and cultural aspects. Bourdieu's analytical legacy which is significant as a cultural legacy is largely misappropriated. This article, reviewing recent research in cultural studies in tourism, highlights and critically interrogates the treatment Bourdieu's theory has received in tourism studies. Arguing that Bourdieu's sociological framework is often misinterpreted, this article sketches out the key components of a Bourdieusian approach to a cultural analysis of tourism. Reflexive return in tourism research remains largely unexplored. This conceptual paper emphasizes the significance of working with Bourdieusian methodological approach and explores the possibilities of employing a reflexive sociology in tourism studies. The paper further highlights the difficulties of pursuing such a theoretical approach and proposes the need to accommodate recent theoretical and empirical challenges to Bourdieu's paradigm.     

Reintegrating Theories,Methods, and Historical Analysis in Teaching Sociology

We discuss ways of bringing theory and methods into conversation with each other within courses and across the sociology curriculum. Theory is often taught completely separately from research methods, which in turn are simplistically divided into quantitative and qualitative. To counter this fragmented approach to the discipline we discuss two major paradigms, a social-forces paradigm often linked to quantitative research and an interpretive paradigm often linked to qualitative inquiry. But at a deeper level both paradigms require an understanding of historical context. The relationship between these two paradigms and more familiar categories of theory such as "functionalism" and "conflict theories" is not straightforward. We conclude the discussion by describing classroom-tested strategies that help students explore the complexity of the linkages between theories and empirical inquiry.     

Abandoned not: media sociology as a networked transfield

ABSTRACT

The relationship between the disciplines of communication and sociology has been primarily described as being abandoned by sociologists. This article historicizes the alleged sociological abandonment of communication and media research and centers on media sociology as the key manifestation of an ongoing vibrant relationship between the two disciplines. It has two goals. First, I examine the contours of the abandonment notion since Berelson vs. Schramm, Riesman, and Bauer in Public Opinion Quarterly in 1959. I demonstrate the diversity and the depth of media sociology and argue that an US-centric positivist understanding of media sociology has led to the exaggerated and misleading notion of abandonment, which homogenizes theoretical discourse and discounts scholarly contributions from outside of the US. Personal and collective memories have also documented institutional and organizational growth of media sociology. Second, I propose to conceptualize media sociology as a networked transfield driven by questions transcending disciplinary little boxes. Rather than returning to the Lazarsfeldian media effect paradigm, media sociology as a networked transfield driven by questions will allows scholars take advantage of structural holes for synthesis and innovation.     

The Impacts of Highway Expansion on Population Change: An Integrated Spatial Approach

The effects of highways on transforming human society and promoting population change have been investigated in several disciplines, including geography, sociology, economics, and planning. Currently, the primary highway construction activity in the nation is highway expansion; however, this expansion has not been the focus of much of the existing literature. This research examines the role that highway expansion plays in the process of population change. Specifically, this research proposes an integrated spatial regression approach to study the impacts of highway expansion on population change in the 1980s and 1990s in Wisconsin at the minor civil division level. The integrated approach thoroughly considers the factors that influence population change, appropriately examines the spatial variations of their impacts, simultaneously incorporates spatial lag and spatial error dependence, and systematically selects the optimal neighborhood structure. The findings suggest that the impacts of highway expansion on population change differ across rural, suburban, and urban areas: There are only indirect effects in rural areas, both direct and indirect effects in suburban areas, and no statistically significant effects in urban areas. Overall, highway expansion serves as a facilitator of population change within the framework of growth pole theory and location theory.     

Connecting Social Psychology and the Sociology of Sport: Using Goffman as a Framework for Sociological Sports Research

Research on the sociology of sports has much to contribute to public discourse on sports and is well positioned to do so through the connection between sociology of sports and social psychology. This article uses the work of Erving Goffman ( 1967 ) as a framework for situating research in the sociology of sports into the themes of courage and gameness, integrity, and composure. This framework provides a way of organizing research in the field and also highlights areas where further research is needed.     

“We Don't Know How to Do This”: Rural Parents' Perspectives on and Roles in Enrollment at a Private,Selective Liberal Arts College

Rural youth trail their non-rural counterparts in college enrollment and attainment, especially for degrees from selective schools; these gaps further spatial inequality in the United States. Much research has focused on rural parents as impediments to rural college-going: many rural parents did not attend college, and their educational aspirations for their children are lower than those of urban parents. However, every year, thousands of rural students do head to college, even to selective schools, and little is known about their parents' influence on their enrollment. This qualitative study focuses on rural parents without a bachelors degree, investigating the roles they play in their children's aspirations and enrollment at a private, selective liberal arts college and examining their perspectives on this type of school. The results suggest that parents are an important source of social capital, supporting aspirations and enrollment. They also show that these parents see a liberal arts education as a path to a remunerative and rewarding career, and, in supporting their children's college choice, they value factors—financial aid, proximity, and a welcoming school culture—that mitigate the social, cultural, and moral boundaries separating home from college.     

The relevance of Kuhn's model of science to discipline development in sociology «1»

Thomas Kuhn's model of scientific development during the last two decades is reviewed critically in light of its increasing popularity in the sociology of sociology literature. This model, along with recent criticisms and rebuttals by Kuhn, is described, and the circularity of this position as a basis for paradigm development is noted. Several problems are identified for contemporary sociology. We conclude that Kuhn's model can not be used as a strategy for generating a scientific paradigm for the discipline of sociology and, at best, Kuhn's work serves only as a heuristic device for discipline analysis.     

Understanding Sexual Minority Health Disparities in Rural Areas

This article reviews research from several disciplines including sociology, psychology, and public health to examine recent inconsistencies in findings of rural/urban health disparities among sexual minority populations. Previous work has found that sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) report worse health than their heterosexual counterparts on many physical and mental health measures. To understand this occurrence, scholars have situated these findings most often within either minority stress or fundamental cause frameworks. These theories attribute health differences to unique stressors and stigmatization experienced by sexual minorities within a heteronormative social climate. This review provides an overview of specific health disparities by gender and sexual orientation, critically examines research on rural/urban health differences among sexual minorities, and offers three avenues for future research to help remedy the inconsistent results of previous rural/urban sexual minority health disparities research. Discussions of the ‘rural effect,’ rural social support resources, and the importance of geographic region for health are included as opportunities to further social scientific research on sexual minority health disparities.     

A Sociology of the Periphery Versus a Peripheral Sociology: Rural Sociology and the Dimension of Space1

Abstract Rural sociology is intrinsically concerned with the spatial dimensions of social life. However, this underlying research tradition, particularly the use of space as a research strategy, has been insufficiently addressed and its contributions to general sociology are little recognized. I outline how concern with space, uneven development, and the social relationships of peripheral settings have provided substantive boundary and conceptual meaning to rural sociology, propelled its evolution, and left it with a legacy of strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. A willingness to tackle the dimension of space and the thorny problems it raises often sets rural sociologists apart from other sociologists. This research tradition contrasted with general sociology's concern with developing generalization, aspatial covering laws, and proto-typical relationships of modern or Fordist development settings. Conceptual openings have left sociologists questioning their past agenda. Coupled with the “creative marginality” inherent in the questions and contexts addressed by rural sociologists, this makes the subfield central to contemporary sociology.     

Sociology in Hollywood Films

Close examination of 32 Hollywood films released between 1915 and 2006 shows that sociology is often portrayed as a discipline that focuses on the useless, the trivial, and the obscure. Undergraduate students of sociology are sometimes presented as academically untalented and weakly motivated, but at other times as thoughtful and capable of good work. Graduate students are depicted as flawed researchers who are more interested in romance than the completion of their degrees. The movies acknowledge the expertise of sociologists but also suggest they sometimes reach incorrect conclusions, snoop into behavior that should remain private, and fail to maintain appropriate distance from their subjects. Sociologists occasionally appear in brief classroom scenes that contain little of substance; they are as likely to be depicted as advisers or administrators as they are to be depicted as teachers. The sources of cinematic portrayals of sociology and their influence on popular attitudes require further research.     

Moving beyond familism: Potential contributions of gerontological theory to studies of Chicano/Latino aging

Research on Chicano and Latino elders assumes that most Chicano/Latino elderly are primarily active within a family context. Familism is the most common feature of Chicano/Latino families that is used to explain the status of the elderly, how they cope with aging, and how gender dynamics among the elderly are constructed. Predictions about the future of the supportive nature of family for the elderly vary depending on how familism is conceptualized. This focus on familism is shown to be a limiting approach to Chicano/Latino aging. We illustrate how an explicit grounding in different gerontological theories directs the study of Chicano/Latino aging to include broader sociological issues. We also suggest reconceptualizing familism so that the existence of familism has theoretical as well as empirical importance. Placing research on Chicano/Latino aging into a broader sociological framework would move research away from a sociology in aging to a sociology of aging.     

Did Growing Rural Poverty and a Disruptive Climate Spur an Expansion in Rural Sociology? A Comparative Historical Analysis

Rural sociology first gained wide recognition during the 1930s when the intersection of economic depression and environmental crisis underlined the suffering of rural peoples. The historical conjuncture of growing rural poverty and environmental crisis has reappeared in the twenty‐first century. What does this recurring combination of circumstances portend for rural sociology? Does it imply a revival of the policy‐oriented sociological analyses of the 1930s? A comparative historical analysis of rural sociology during the New Deal, the post−World War II period, and the contemporary era suggests a qualified answer to this question. The contemporary era resembles the 1930s in providing compelling rationales for engaged scholarship, but the cross‐class coalitions between government social scientists and the rural poor that characterized the 1930s have not materialized in the twenty‐first century. Despite this difference, some common themes, such as a growing emphasis on interdisciplinary research, a primary concern with rural poverty, and an increased interest in the distinguishing features of resilient communities, have characterized scholarship during both periods. These similarities suggest that the practice of applied and engaged scholarship, so prevalent in the rural sociology of the 1930s, has found new traction in dealing with the social and ecological problems of twenty‐first‐century rural communities.