Rural communities / rural life Books

Book SynopsisThis social history of the 'ordinary' people of the south-western peninsula of Argyll, in Western Scotland, has become a classic since its original publication in 1984. It is reprinted here with a new Introduction by the author, a native of Kintyre who knows its geography intimately. The greater part of the book is based on original research from a wide range of sources, from nineteenth century registers of the poor to material passed on through the oral tradition. It traces the evolution of the extraordinarily mixed stock of Kintyre from the Gaelic settlement in the fifth century AD through the subsequent settlements of the Lowlanders and Irish, and explores the nature of these diverse cultural legacies. The darker aspects of social history - epidemic diseases, sanitary and housing conditions and destitution - are also explored, and the sinister activities of grave-robbers in nineteenth century Kintyre are substantiated for the first time. There is also information on Irish immigrant families, the anglicisation of native surnames and surviving Gaelic elements in the local dialect.

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Book Synopsisn the past decade, spanning from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, rural poverty in the United States has risen dramatically. The impact of the pandemic is set to intensify these inequalities as the decades of neoliberal dismantling of public healthcare and other social institutions leave inhabitants of impoverished rural areas particularly vulnerable.Even before this current exacerbation, representations of rural landscape in American cinema have sought to spatially visualize the country’s social inequalities and focus on the victims of poverty and marginalization. The films discussed in this monograph, Ballast (2008), Winter’s Bone (2010), Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), and Leave No Trace (2018), address deep rural poverty in a complex manner and facilitate an interactive, social understanding of landscape.New Rural Cinema suggest a novel way of looking at landscape in cinema that responds to and guides its readers through this recent development in American Independent film. It views the chosen films as expressions of a growing awareness of the dire inequality caused by neoliberal capitalism in the United States and the role landscape plays both in its mechanisms of social exclusion as well as in its collective contestation.

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Book SynopsisAn essential and engaging read for everyone who wants to better understand the challenges facing our cities, towns and our nation, starting with the places we call home (Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class)The neighborhoods we live in impact our lives in so many ways: they determine who we know, what resources and opportunities we have access to, the quality of schools our kids go to, our sense of security and belonging, and even how long we live.Yet too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between.In Fragile Neighborhoods, fragile states expert Seth D. Kaplan offers a bold new vision for addressing social decline in America, one zip code at a time. By rev

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Book SynopsisThe rural has long been regarded as an important site of geographical inquiry even if our understanding of it has not always been treated as conceptually different from the urban. That said, rural research has pursued a number of distinct empirical agendas ranging from the operation and impacts of agribusiness, to local resistance to global food supply chains, to differing representations of the rural. In doing so, rural geographers have critically examined the relevance and significance of ideas drawn from numerous traditions including political economy, ecological modernization and cultural theory, amending them as appropriate, in their search to understand the nature and trajectory of rural areas. Up until the 1980s, attention remained largely focused upon agriculture as the primary land-use but increasingly new forms of rural consumption - housing, recreation, nature conservation - have taken centre stage as the primacy of local agricultures has been undermined by reduced state proTrade Review'...it is handy to have a collection of useful papers in one place, in easy reach for quick reference.' Area (Journal of RGS with Institute of British Geographers)Table of ContentsContents: Introduction; Part I Agriculture and Food: The new industrial agriculture: the regional integration of speciality crop production, Margaret FitzSimmons; Towards a political economy of capitalist agriculture: a British perspective, Terry Marsden, Richard Munton, Sarah Whatmore and Jo Little; Food and fibre production under capitalism: a conceptual agenda, Richard Le Heron; Recasting the 'agrarian question' the reproduction of family farming in the Southern High Plains, Rebecca Roberts; The social construction of international food: a new research agenda, A. Arce and T.K. Marsden; Quality, nature and embeddedness: some theoretical considerations in the context of the food sector, Jonathan Murdoch, Terry Marsden and Jo Banks; Agro-food studies in the 'age of ecology': nature corporeality, bio-politics, David Goodman; Shifting plates in the agrifood landscape: the tectonics of alternative agrifood initiatives in California, Patricia Allen, Margaret FitzSimmons, Michael Goodman and Keith Warner; Making re-connections in agro-food geography: alternative systems of food provision, D. Watts, B. Ilbery and D. Maye; Post-productivism and rural land use: cul de sac or challenge for theorization?, Alexander S. Mather, Gary Hill and Maria Nijnik; Rural development: from practices and policies towards theory, Jan Douwe van der Ploeg, Henk Renting, Gianluca Brunori, Karlheinz Knickel, Joe Mannion, Terry Marsden, Kees de Roest, Eduardo Sevilla-Guzmán and Flaminia Ventura. Part II The Rural: Locality and rurality: the restructuring of rural social relations, Howard Newby; An index of rurality for England and Wales, Paul J. Cloke; Locality and social representation: space discourse and alternative definitions of the rural, K.H. Halfacree; Conceptualizing countryside change: from post-Fordism to rural structured coherence, Paul Cloke and Mark Goodwin; Neglected rural geographies: a review, Chris Philo; Rural studies: modernism, post-modernism and the 'post-rural', Jonathan Murdoch and Andy C. Pratt; Country backwater to virtual village? Rural studies and 'the cultural turn', Paul Cloke; Agricultural turns, geographical turns: retrospect and prospect, Carol Morris and Nick Evans; Making sense of counterurbanization, Clare J.A. Mitchell; Middle-class territory? Some remarks on the use of class analysis in rural studies, J. Murdoch; New energies for an old idea: reworking approaches to 'community' in contemporary rural studies, Ruth Liepins. Part III Regulation, Rural Governance and Development: Policy, planning and the state in rural localities, Paul Cloke and Jo Little; The governance of rural areas: some emerging research issues and agendas, Mark Goodwin; Deconstructing rural protest: the emergence of a new social movement, Michael Woods; Family farmers, real regulation and the experience of food regimes, Warren Moran, Greg Blunden, Martin Workman and Adrian Bradly; The state, rural environments and globalisation: 'action at a distance' via the Australian landcare program, S. Lockie; Roll-out neo-liberalism and hybrid practices of regulation in Australian agri-environmental governance, Stewart Lockie and Vaughan Higgins; 'Power in place': viticultural spatialities of globalization and community empowerment in the Languedoc, Alun Jones; Keeping matter in its place: pollution regulation and the reconfiguring of farmers and farming, N. Ward, J. Clark, P. Lowe and S. Seymour; The quest for ecological modernisation: re-spacing rural development and agri-food studies, Terry Marsden; Name Index.

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Book SynopsisAlanoud al-Sharekh is the Director of Ibtkar Strategic Consultancy leading political, leadership and diversity training programs in Kuwait and the GCC region. She is chairperson of the Chaillot award winning Abolish 153 campaign to end honor killing legislations, and a cofounder of Mudhawis List, a platform to support women running for political office. Her research won the Arab Prize for best publication in a foreign journal in 2014, and includes books such as The Gulf Family, and Popular and Political Cultures of the Arabian Gulf States, examining the persistent importance of family and tribe in modern Gulf politics and society. She is currently a MENA Fellow at Chatham House and a Research Fellow at AGISW.Courtney Freer is Assistant Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is the author of Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (2018).Trade ReviewInsightfully ... the book presents a historical, conceptual and digital understanding of tribal mechanisms in these states and represents an outstanding contribution to Gulf studies. * International Affairs *This book is essential for a meaningful understanding of the prevailing political, social and economic conditions of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. An admirable contribution to the literature that will stand the test of time. -- Hossein G. Askari, Iran Professor of International Business and International Affairs, The George Washington University, USAA richly nuanced study of the changing relations of tribe and state in the Arabian Peninsula. The authors pose a fresh challenge to the prominent notion that the rentier state has significantly limited the role of independent actors, and especially tribes, in contributing to national identity formation in the Gulf region. A most welcome contribution that will attract the interest of scholars working across the social sciences. -- Philip S. Khoury, Ford International Professor of History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USAConcentrating on the impact of tribes in the three Gulf states with high income and small national populations, Freer and Alsharekh ably explain tribal importance in badu identity, electoral politics, and their continuing sociopolitical role -- J.E. Peterson, historian and political analystTable of ContentsTable of Contents Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: The Historical Relationship between Badu and Monarchies Chapter Three: Heritage Production and Branding of the Modern Badu in State Formation Chapter Four: The Social Evolution of the Tribe Chapter Five: Tribalisation of traditionally non-tribal actors and future impact of the resurgence of tribal rhetoric Chapter Six: Electoral Tribalism Chapter Seven: Tribal Intersections in the Digital Age Chapter Eight: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisAnything is paws-ible with this furry matchmaker!Boutique owner Sophie Daniels certainly isn't looking to adopt a dog the day veterinarian Chase Lewis convinces her to take in Comet. A rambunctious puppy with a broken leg may not be the best choice for a first-time pet owner. And house calls from the handsome doctor - her high school sweetheart who's just moved back to Sweetwater Springs -may not be the best choice for her heart either.Chase has come home to help his nephew but finds that he's forgotten just how much he enjoys small-town life. However, sooner or later, he's going to have to face the past and his unresolved feelings for Sophie. Now that Comet needs both their help, Chase is going to let the four-legged matchmaker work his canine magic. Then Chase will prove to Sophie that first love is even better the second time around.Includes the bonus novella A Wedding on Lavender Hill!

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Book SynopsisA debut historical novel based on the true story of a young woman in 1920s Virginia fighting to reclaim the daughter she was forced to give up, a case that culminated in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.Virginia, 1924. Ruth Ann Riley is 17 years old when she gives birth to a baby girl. Unwed and under-educated, she's deemed "feeble-minded" -- just like her own mother -- and sent to live in a state-run institution where the doctors decide she must be sterilized "for the greater good." But Ruth Ann won't give up her baby Annabel or the hope of future children without a fight, even though her hardscrabble life and sixth-grade education have in no way prepared her to take on the Supreme Court of the United States. As Ruth Ann comes of age in a daunting world and struggles with secrets and scandals in her past, she finds unexpected allies, friendship and the possibility of love in the most unlikely of places. K.D. Alden weaves a harrowing and ultimately uplifting story based on a true American court case that had global ramifications. A reading group guide includes discussion questions, an author essay, and text from the actual historical documents of the case.

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of the role of Africa's religio-cultural traditions in the continent's development.

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Book SynopsisInspiring stories of 10 urbanites who decided to ?the simple life? in the rural mountains of Japan?for anyone interested in sustainable living, Japanese culture, and Eastern spirituality. ?Subversive in the best possible way.? ?Bill McKibben, New York Times?bestselling author The Abundance of Less captures the texture of sustainable lives well lived in these 10 profiles of ordinary?yet exceptional?men and women who left behind mainstream existences in urban Japan to live surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, friends, delicious food, and an abundance of time. Drawing on traditional Eastern spiritual wisdom and culture, these pioneers describe the profound personal transformations they underwent as they escaped the stress, consumerism, busyness, and dependence on technology of modern life. This intimate and evocative book tells of their fulfilling lives as artists, philosophers, and farmers who rely on themselves for happiness and sustenance. By inviting readers to enter into the essence of these individuals? days, Couturier shows us how we too can bring more meaning and richness to our own lives.

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Book SynopsisWhen war broke out in 1914 conscription seemed unnecessary; there was no shortage of volunteers ready to lay down their lives for England. In this book Caroline Dakers explores exactly what 'England' meant to the men and women who fought, died, survived. She suggests that, with a little subliminal help from literature, art and propaganda, the British volunteer, whether factory worker, farm hand or public school boy, felt that he was fighting for a vision of 'old England' - village, church, meadow and carthorse, rather than city, factory, commerce and motor car. Drawing on a wide range of unpublished papers and family archives, Dakers recreates the world of the countryside at war, through chapters on agriculture (literally 'the home front'), and life and death in the manor house, vicarage, school and farm. And while all this was being fought for, the French countryside was being smashed into a quagmire. This is the most complete picture yet of the impact of the World War I on rural England; a war which, if only in the ubiquitous village war memorials, still reverberates today.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface to the Paperback Edition Introduction Over by Christmas Writers and Artists in the Countryside In the Manor House In the Village On the Farm: The Fight for Food In Foreign Fields Aftermath: The Countryside at Peace References Bibliography Inde

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Book SynopsisA unique and gloriously nostalgic account of one eventful year in the fire service for readers who loved books such as CALL THE MIDWIFE and TRUST ME, I'M A VET and the brand new ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL.Nothing about the county fire service was quite what Malcolm expected when he joined the watch in Shrewsbury. As the newest member of the service he was first in line when swans terrorised the high street - and when a flock of owls got stuck on the roof of his local pub. Eighteen years old and more than ready to rush into burning buildings to save fair damsels in distress, young Malcolm soon realised he was more likely to be jumping into slurry pits and rivers to rescue any number of unfortunate animals. But for all the embarrassing situations Malcolm found himself in there were heart-stopping dramas too - and tragic farm and house fires. As he learns on the job and begins to win the respect of the old-timers, Malcolm starts to feel that maybe, one day, he just might make it as a fireman. But first he has to catch the eye of the smiley secretary in the office opposite the station ... Funny, moving and gloriously nostalgic, All Fired Up paints a unique portrait of rural Britain - and shows just how surprising a fireman's life can be.Trade ReviewHumorous and surprising in equal measure. Hilarious * DAILY EXPRESS *A hugely interesting read, one of those books that you finish and want more. It captures the camaraderie of the crews, their banter and humour and recall some of the more memorable call-outs, some tragic but others the stuff of lasting anecdotes * SHROPSHIRE STAR *

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Book SynopsisIn this lyrical and compelling collection of tales of the quotidian, John A. Ryan paints a sincere picture of Ireland, it’s environment and people. His delicate awareness of the world around him is reflected in every paragraph of these poetic and contemplative pieces. Each is infused with a sense of mindfulness, slowness and the almost divine nature of the small and the commonplace, reminding the reader of the sacredness of life at the heart of the universe. Some of these twenty prose pieces, scattered across rural and small-town Ireland, France and the Mediterranean littoral, have already appeared in the pages of the Irish Press. Most are hitherto unseen. They partake of Benedict Kiely, Donal Ryan and the deep traditions of Irish traditional rural literature.Trade ReviewRyan ‘is an apostle of nature, possessed of a poet’s sensitivity … his stories have a directness and simplicity that remind me of certain songs by Neil Young.’

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Saltire Society Scottish History Book of the Year Award In April 1816 Patrick Sellar was brought to trial in Inverness for culpable homicide for his treatment of the Highlanders of Strathnaver, the most northerly part of the Scottish highlands. In the process of evicting them from their ancient lands he had allegedly burnt houses, destroyed mills and wrecked pastures. There is perhaps no more hated nor reviled individual in Highland history. This outstanding new book, however, gives a balanced assessment of the man, a vivid account of a terrible episode in Highland history, and a riveting narration of a tormented life. Richard's book is an account of Sellar's life and times: that he was ruthless, avaricious, devious and cruel is beyond question. But his letters suggest a streak of idealism: did he really believe that the displaced highlanders would be better off, better fed, educated and housed in their new homes? Have the Highlands in the end become more productive and prosperous? In the course of his fast-moving and gripping account, Eric Richards looks carefully at these vexed questions.Trade ReviewPatrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances, Eric Richards' excellent, very fully documented study of the man, helps us to understand him much better...We need to be honest about Scotland in relation to imperialism, Eric Richards' subtle, imposing and highly readable book is of great service in this direction. Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances, Eric Richards' excellent, very fully documented study of the man, helps us to understand him much better...We need to be honest about Scotland in relation to imperialism, Eric Richards' subtle, imposing and highly readable book is of great service in this direction.

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Book SynopsisAllan Cunningham''s Traditional Tales is a selection of folk stories steeped in the traditions and popular literature of southern Scotland and northern England. Originally published in 1822, this was one of the earliest collections of folktales ever produced in Britain. Operating within the debateable land between fact and fancy, mixing the natural and supernatural, they blur the distinction between the oral traditions of the distant past and emerging ideas of literature and modernity. Cunningham''s Traditional Tales form an essential part of folkloric history, as well as being fascinating stories in their own right.

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Book SynopsisEnglish rural society underwent fundamental changes between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries with urbanization, commercialization and industrialization producing new challenges and opportunities for inhabitants of rural communities. However, our understanding of this period has been shaped by the compartmentalization of history into medieval and early-modern specialisms and by the debates surrounding the transition from feudalism to capitalism and landlord-tenant relations. Inspired by the classic works of Tawney and Postan, this collection of essays examines their relevance to historians today, distinguishing between their contrasting approaches to the pre-industrial economy and exploring the development of agriculture and rural industry; changes in land and property rights; and competition over resources in the English countryside.Table of Contents1. Tawney and Postan: Two Pathways to Understanding the Pre-Industrial Economy by Christopher Dyer2. Rural Industry and the Peasant Agrarian Economy: A Study of the Iron Industry in Medieval England by Alexandra Sapoznik3. English Agrarian Structures in a European Context, 1300-1925 by John Broad4. Farming the Kentish Marshlands: Continuity and Change in the late Middle Ages by Sheila Sweetinburgh5. 'The Struggle for the Commons': Commons, Custom and Cottages in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries by James P. Bowen6. The Economics of Shipwreck in Late-Medieval Suffolk by Tom Johnson7. Custom and Competition for Woodland Resources in Early-Modern High and Low Furness, Lancashire by William D. Shannon8. Custom, Common Right and Commercialisation in the Forest of Dean, c.1605-1640 by Simon Sandall9. A Money Economy? Provisioning Durham Cathedral across the Dissolution, 1350-1600 by A. T. Brown10. Elizabethan Entrepreneurs: Three Clothiers of the Frome valley, 1550-1600 by John Gaisford11. 'The Fellowship of the Town': Constituting the Commonality of an English Town, Cirencester, c.1200-1800 by David RollisonAfterword by Andy Wood

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Book SynopsisNearly 60 years ago, the WI handbook for country women teaches, through the seasons, the delights of cider-making, indoor bulb-planting, smocking, butter-making, cooking with home-grown herbs, public speaking, wall-papering, Durham quilting and more. How much times have changed for women, but how much we have forgotten!

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates what a case study of a northern market town and its rural hinterland can tell us about village differentiation, exploring how and why rural communities developed in what was chiefly an industrial region and, notably, how the relationship between town and country influenced rural communities. It looks at six villages close to Doncaster - Sprotbrough, Warmsworth, Rossington, Fishlake, Stainforth and Braithwell - chosen to represent the diversity of landownership and land type of the Doncaster district. Rural communities, and more specifically the development of English villages, have proved fertile ground for historians. This book makes an original contribution to these debates. In particular, it engages with existing models of village typology, suggesting that not only are they too restrictive to account for nuanced differences, but also that they fail to acknowledge the importance of the relationships between rural communities and between town and country. Following Sarah Holland’s detailed research into different aspects of rural communities, the book offers new perspectives on how rural communities in close proximity developed, often differently, during the mid nineteenth century. Themes looked at in detail include living and working conditions, agriculture and industry, religion and education, and through these Holland considers existing theories of village typology, before setting out her ideas regarding social hierarchies, spheres of influence and agency, which combine to create complex patterns of differentiation. Communities in Contrast will appeal to all those interested in rural life and economy in the nineteenth century, the relationship between town and country, as well as the history of Yorkshire.Table of Contents1 Introduction 2 Social Hierarchies, Power Relations and Agency in the Countryside 3 Rural Economies 4 Living and working conditions 5 Religion and Education 6 Rural Recreation 7 Conclusion

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Book SynopsisHow did rural Britain become modern during the twentieth century? New Lives, New Landscapes examines how the development of modern infrastructure in Britain transformed both its landscapes and the lives of those who lived within them. Shifting the focus away from the city, the narrative challenges us to rethink what we mean by modern Britain.Table of ContentsList of Figures Notes on Contributors 1: Linda M. Ross, Katrina Navickas, Matthew Kelly, and Ben Anderson: Introduction 2: Jeremy Burchardt: In-between Landscapes 3: Kristen Bluemel: Rural Modernity in Britain: Landscape, Literature, Nostalgia 4: Gareth Roddy: Seeing like a Quarryman: Landscape, Quarrying, and Competing Visions of Rural England along Hadrian's Wall, 1930-1960 5: Katrina Navickas: Building Amenity in Areas of Non-Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Southern Pennines 6: Ian Waites: The Post-war Power Station and the Persistence of an English Landscape Tradition 7: Moa Carlsson: England and the Isovist 8: Karen Sayer: The View from the Land, 1947-1968: 'Modernity' in British Agriculture, Farm, and Nation 9: Paul Readman: Landscape of Military Modernity: From 'Eyesores' to National Heritage? 10: Linda M. Ross: Nuclear Narratives: Rural Modernity, Identity, and Heritage in the Highlands and Islands 11: Ysanne Holt: Think Rural: Act Now 12: Ben Anderson and Matthew Kelly: What Happens When Rural Modernity Ceases to be Modern? 13: Tim O'Riordan: The New 'New Landscapes': A Personal View Index

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Book SynopsisThis study examines the major elements of the nonprofit sector of the economy of the United States, describing the institutions and their functions, and then exploring how their benefits are distributed across various economic classes.

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Book SynopsisAsks whether traditional observations about farm families apply to three hundred Iowa children who grew up with some tie to the land during the agricultural crisis of the 1980s, a time of widespread farm bankruptcies and factory closings. The answer, the authors show, is a resounding yes.Trade Review"What is it about 'ties to the land' that influences the development of young people? The answers the authors provide are not only analytically compelling, but they reveal invaluable insights for solving many of the problems facing our urban and suburban school communities as they struggle to provide meaningful environments for socializing and educating our adolescents into productive adults." (American Journal of Sociology) "A welcome corrective to the literature on development, which has focused almost exclusively on metropolitan areas.... Through their careful connection of life choices to life chances in historical context, the authors offer a model of sociological inquiry worthy of emulation." (Social Forces)"

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Book SynopsisThis history of queer life in the South seeks to debunk the myth that same-sex desires can't find expression outside the big city. It shows that the nominally conservative institutions of small-town life - home, church, school and workplace - were the very sites where queer sexuality flourished.

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Book SynopsisA look at the range of close relationships between humans and wild and domesticated animals in the Himalayas.

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Book SynopsisArguing that village life is an effect of the modern and the global, this text analyzes everyday and social practices, and suggests that Kabre culture is shaped as much by colonial and postcolonial history as by anything "indigenous" or local.

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Book SynopsisThis volume combines two classic works of anthropology. The Little Community draws on the author's own notable studies of the villages of Tepoztlan and Chan Kom to explore the means by which scientists try to understand human communities. It contains, wrote Margaret Mead, the essence of Robert Redfield's multifaceted contributions to the place of community studies in social science. Peasant Society and Culture outlines a speculative foundation for the emergence of anthropology from the study of isolated primitive tribes.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Downey challenges the ideas that schools are engines of inequality and that schools can be effectively transformed to substantially reduce inequality. Having completed some of the most influential recent work on the topic, he shows that most of the inequalities we observe are rooted in skills children do and do not possess on their very first day of school., and the evidence suggests that For the most part, schools keep differences from getting bigger. Schools can only get you part of the way If you want to have to a more equal opportunity structure for kids. If equality of opportunity is your goal, then you have to invest more heavily in solutions outside rather than inside of schools."--Eric Grodsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison "This book is a must-read for anyone interested in education equality and policy. How Schools Really Matter offers a much-needed corrective to the assumption that student achievement gaps are the product of woefully inadequate schools and teachers. Downey shows that schools compensate for out of school inequality much more than we give them credit for."--Janice Aurini, University of Waterloo "Downey's book takes on the widely held belief that our public schools are failing our neediest children, most especially children of low-income background. Critics on the left invoke underfunded schools, underqualified and undermotivated teachers, and hyper-segregation; for those on the right, and some on the left, it is the opening for charter schools and vouchers. Wrong, says Downey: our schools, on the whole, lift up poor children, not hold them back, implicating instead inequities experienced over the preschool years and in children's home lives outside of school. Read this important book with an open mind. It could very well change how you--how we all--think about schools and inequality." --Karl Alexander, co-editor of The Summer Slide: What We Know and Can Do About Summer Learning Loss "It's not often that a publication changes the way we think the world works. Communicated in remarkably clear prose, Downey's incisive empirically based analysis reveals that inequality increases significantly when children are out of, not while they are in, school. How School's Really Matter is an eye-opener, as well as a call to action--that is, a more focused endeavor to reduce the large disparities in children's social and physical environments, including those of their early childhood." --William Julius Wilson, Harvard UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Why We Shouldn’t Be Blaming Schools So Much Chapter 1: The Forgotten 87 Percent Herbert Walberg’s outrageous claim Trying to understand how schools matter when you have an eight-hundred-pound gorilla problem Chapter 2: Chickens, Eggs, and Achievement Gaps When do achievement gaps emerge? Scaling matters Why the early years are so important Relative deprivation matters too Conclusion Chapter 3: One Very Surprising Pattern about Schools Soccer coaches and schools Trying to understand how schools matter Seasonal comparisons What do we learn from the few studies that have collected data seasonally? Conclusion Chapter 4: And Now a Second, Even More Surprising Pattern School achievement, growth, and impact Objections Conclusion Part II: A New Way to Think about Schools and Inequality Chapter 5: More Like Reflectors than Generators Schools generating inequality Two examples of schools reflecting broader society What about those high-flying schools? Underestimating early childhood Conclusion: A diminished role for schools, an enhanced role for early childhood Chapter 6: As Helping More than Hurting Schools as compensatory: The weak form Schools as compensatory: The strong form Conclusion Chapter 7: A Frida Sofia Problem Schools and inequality: Stuck within the traditional framing Our value for limited government Fear of “blaming the victim” Gender and the vulnerability of schools Conclusion Chapter 8: The Costly Assumption Rich guys trying to reduce achievement gaps The never-ending quest to reform schools The great distractor So what should we do? Acknowledgments Appendix A: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Datasets (ECLS-K:1998 and ECLS-K:2010) Appendix B: Limitations of Seasonal Comparison Studies Appendix C: How Should Social Scientists Study Schools and Inequality? Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisAlthough the death of the small town has been predicted for decades, during the 1990s the population of rural America actually increased by more than 3 million people. In this work Sonya Salamon explores these rural migrants and the impact they have on small town America.

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Book SynopsisAlthough the death of small town has been predicted for decades, during 1990s population of rural America increased by more than three million people. This book considers these rural newcomers and their impact on social relationships, public spaces, and community resources of small-town America.Trade Review"Salamon has written an engaging story that puts a human face on the macro-level shifts affecting the once agrarian rural communities of the American Midwest. Through her stories of six central Illinois 'postagrarian' towns, she deftly illuminates much of the micro-foundation of these shifts in the daily decisions of people." - Ralph B. Brown, Rural History "If you are one of the many millions of Americans who is thinking about 'moving out to the country,' you should read this book first." - William R. Freudenburg, Contexts"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Underlying the country’s red state–blue state polarization is a more profound, and widening, rural-urban split . . . A piercing, unsentimental new book [argues that] understanding it will require setting myths aside and grappling with what the rich and the powerful have done to rural spaces and people. Such demystification, Conn rightly insists, is long overdue." * New Yorker *"An engaging, lively, comprehensive, and provocative study of ‘the Big Empty,’ the area between the Appalachians and the Sierras. Despite its bucolic look, ‘four powerful forces of American modernity’ permeate the Big Empty: militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization. The so-called ‘lies of the land’ are the easy-to-miss, pervasive effects of these forces—effects that show the existence of an idyllic, real-America America has always been a myth.” * Washington Independent Review of Books *"Conn takes our ideal small town where white Americans cherish hard work and independence from subsidies, along with religious and traditional family values, and shows it to be a nostalgic myth. The Land of Lies is a powerful book . . . but perhaps most importantly, his description of rural America as a hard place to make a living shows that it is a much more complex and interesting space than our myth ever allowed." * Newcity *“[Conn is a] sharp observer who know[s] how myths of apple-pie-baking folk stolidly occupying a quaint-but-enviable moral high ground have been twisted over decades, generations even, to set up all kinds of exploitative exploits by snake-oil salesmen.” * LEO Weekly *"How does a land tell lies? Conn’s premise is that our enduring image of rural America is in large part illusory, also since most people in America, about 75%, now live in urban areas, he theorizes our perception of rural life gets distorted by idealistic visions which don’t correspond to reality." * Dayton Daily News *“Recent attention to rural America and its manifold ills is long overdue, but our understanding has been impeded by misleading generalizations and outright romanticization. The Lies of the Land cuts through such platitudes and describes our small towns and open spaces in all their complexity—showing us that rural America is inextricably bound to the rest of the country, rather than a realm apart." -- Alec MacGillis, author of 'Fulfillment: America in the Shadow of Amazon'“When many imagine the American countryside, they think of quiet porches far from the bustling cities. That is not the world you’ll find in this brilliant book. Here, missile silos, factories, and suburban developments are as much a part of the rural landscape as mountaintops, family farms, and dirt roads. For those who’ve lost sight of life beyond the city, Conn offers a fresh perspective on rural America that may help a divided nation find common connection.” -- Bart Elmore, author of 'Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet'“Conn documents rural America as a space that has been militarized, industrialized, corporatized, and suburbanized, sometimes by rural inhabitants themselves. Readers will savor Conn’s upending of so-called rural crises and rural myths.” -- Dolores Hayden, author of 'Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820–2000'Table of ContentsPreface: That Empty Feeling Introduction: Crisis and Myth Part I: Militarized Space Chapter 1: Engineering the Landscape Chapter 2: From Rural Community to Army Town Chapter 3: The Cold War Comes to the UP Postscript: Addicted to the Military Part II: Industrial Spaces Chapter 4: Factories Instead of Farms Chapter 5: Cars in the Cornfields Part III. Rural Inc. Chapter 6: Who’s Afraid of Big? Chapter 7: Chains ’R’ Us Part IV. The Suburbanization of Rural America Chapter 8: Creating Post-rural Space Chapter 9: The Politics of Post-rural Complaint Conclusion: Places vs. Spaces Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe terror unleashed by Soviet power on the Ukrainian countryside in the early 1930s altered every aspect of village life. Based on extensive interviews with villagers throughout Ukraine, The Transformation of Civil Society provides an oral history of the material and cultural destruction sustained in rural Ukraine throughout the Stalinist era.Trade Review“This extraordinary oral history project captures an entire lost civilization: the world of the Ukrainian countryside before collectivization and famine. Using interviews carried out immediately after Ukrainian independence, William Noll describes elements of village life – including courting, wedding, and funeral rituals, Christmas and Easter celebrations, music, and art – that have now nearly disappeared. Published in Ukrainian in 1999, this English translation now makes this unique material accessible to a much wider audience.” Anne Applebaum, author of Gulag: A History

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Book SynopsisThis book bridges both the macro and micro levels of analysis to place the dynamics of a national political movement within a richly detailed account of its working at the village level.

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Book SynopsisTo some, the news that rural America still exists may be a surprise. While rural areas have undergone dramatic changes over the years, traditional social problems persist. This volume analyzes trends in rural social work practice and considers the most effective ways to serve rural communities.Trade ReviewThis is a fine basic text or reader for social work students who want to absorb the flavor and needs of practice in the rural US. Choice An important contribution to the literature and should be widely consulted by anyone interested in rural social welfare. Journal of Sociology and Social WelfareTable of ContentsIntroduction (Roger A. Lohmann and Nancy Lohmann) Part I: The Context of Practice 1. Social Work in Rural America: Lessons from the Past and Trends for the Future (Barry L. Locke and Jim Winship) 2. Rural Poverty and Welfare Reform: Challenges and Opportunities (Eleanor H. Blakely and Barry L. Locke) 3. Wired for the Future? The Impact of Information and Telecommunications Technology on Rural Social Work (Norma H. Wasko) 4. The Distribution of Nonprofit Social Service Organizations along the Rural-Urban Continuum (Mark A. Hager, Amy Brimer, and Thomas H. Pollak) 5. The Third Sector in Rural America (Roger A. Lohmann) Part II: Interventions 6. Dual Relationships in Rural Communities (Warren B. Galbreath) 7. Rural Community-Building Strategies (Dennis L. Poole) 8. The Multiple Roles of a Rural Administrator (Nancy Lohmann and Roger A. Lohmann) Part III: Client Populations and Fields of Practice 9. Services for the Chronically Mentally Ill in Rural Areas (Elizabeth Randall) 10. Directions in Rural Mental Health Practice (Elizabeth Randall and Dennis Vance, Jr.) 11. The Health of Rural Minorities (Doris Nicholas) 12. Gay Men and Lesbians in Rural Areas: Acknowledging, Valuing, and Empowering This Stigmatized Invisible People (Chatman Neely) 13. The Role of Religiousness/Spirituality and Social Support on Subjective Well-being Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Rural Communities (Dong Pil Yoon) 14. Demographic Characteristics of the Rural Elderly (Craig Johnson) Part IV: Education for Practice 15. Social Work Education for Rural Practice (Nancy Lohmann) Epilogue: What is Rural Practice? (Roger A. Lohmann and Nancy Lohmann) List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisThis pathbreaking book pinpoints forces behind the rise of the “rural voter”—a new political identity that combines a deeply felt sense of place with an increasingly nationalized set of concerns.Trade ReviewIn this important book, two political scientists—rural themselves—set the record straight on the rural voter. Based on a massive voter survey stretching from 1824 to 2020, Nicholas F. Jacobs and Daniel M. Shea carefully puzzle over reasons so many rural Americans now despair of the Democratic Party and even see it as the enemy. They add to this a brilliant analysis of Hollywood’s view of rural Americans, shifting from quaint to backward to menacing and beyond. If you live in the city, read this book. -- Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American RightThe thing that stands out the most is the way Jacobs and Shea examine and often dismantle long-standing stereotypes and conventional media narratives with empathy. The data and historical research are rigorous and important, but the nuance and curiosity the authors bring to the table are The Rural Voter’s special sauce. -- Amy Walter, publisher and editor in chief of The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterForget what you think you know about rural politics in the United States. With high-quality data and careful analysis, Jacobs and Shea demonstrate that rural voters are not particularly down-and-out or fired up by religion, racism, conservative media, and ideology. Instead, rural economic and civic struggles, which are not unique, have generated a sense of place-based grievance that reflects rural voters' beliefs about the value of rural life and a linked fate as rural residents. -- Douglas D. Roscoe, author of The Promise of Democratic Equality in the United StatesIt’s a rare book on American politics that has a sense of place. The authors, who hail from rural communities and know their neighbors, show that “geography matters”—but not at all in the ways our stereotyped notions of rural (and urban) tell us. -- Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us ApartThis book contains what surely must be the most comprehensive study of rural voters ever produced. Based largely on a massive new database, Jacobs and Shea’s analyses provide a treasure trove of new findings and along the way modify or overturn a number of popular generalizations about urban versus rural voters. -- Morris P. Fiorina, author of Unstable Majorities: Polarization, Party Sorting, and Political StalemateFor those seeking a comprehensive, thoroughly researched volume about rural voters with original data and insightful analysis, stop looking. The Rural Voter provides an unbiased account of rural voters that does not fall prey to partisan stereotypes. I have little doubt this pathbreaking book will reshape our understanding of a key change in American politics. -- Joanne Connor Green, author of Government and Politics in the Lone Star StateA pioneering work, based on solid evidence, shattering myths about rural voters and insightfully explaining their shift toward Trump support. -- Gerald M. Pomper, author, Ordinary Heroes and American DemocracyTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Two Americas1. Who and What Is Rural America?2. The Deep Roots of the Rural-Urban Divide (1776–1980)3. Manufacturing the Myth of “Real America” (1980–Present)4. Listening to Rural Americans5. Down and Out in Rural America?6. A Wasteland of Alienation?7. Clinging to Their Guns and Religion?8. Irredeemably Racist?9. Radicalized by Fox?10. Pulling It All Together: Finding the Rural Voter11. Bridges Across the Rural-Urban DivideNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisLong a bastion of antigovernment feeling, the Ozark region today is home to fervent strains of conservative-influenced sentiment. Does rural heritage play an exceptional role in the perpetuation of these attitudes? Have such outlooks been continuous? J. Blake Perkins searches for the roots of rural defiance in the Ozarks--and discovers how it changed over time. Eschewing generalities, Perkins focuses on the experiences and attitudes of rural people themselves as they interacted with government from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century.He uncovers the reasons local disputes and uneven access to government power fostered markedly different reactions by hill people as time went by. Resistance in the earlier period sprang from upland small farmers'' conflicts with capitalist elites who held the local levers of federal power. But as industry and agribusiness displaced family farms after World War II, a conservative cohort of town business elites, local political offiTrade Review"Hillbilly Hellraisers challenges the seemingly uncontroversial claim that antigovernment sentiment has enjoyed exception continuity among rural working-class Americans." --Journal of Appalachian Studies"This is a very good book about the roots of resistance and rebellion in the Arkansas Ozarks in response to federal government attempts to effect social and economic change in the region from the late 19th to the early 21st century. . . . Highly recommended."--OzarksWatch"Hillbilly Hellraisers represents an important contribution to rural history and a valuable narrative of those who struggled to confront the changes that reshaped the region. It's strongest moments derive from the individual stories of those who sought to hold on to their farms and their traditional modes of living."--Arkansas Review "Perkins produces an engaging political history of the communities in the Ozark Mountain region of northwest Arkansas. . . . While steeped in local history, this book also provides insights into how rural people react to federalism. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice"This is an important book, one that fills a much-needed historiographic niche, and one that opens the door for further study into the political culture of not only the Arkansas Ozarks, but rural America as a whole."--Elder Mountain: Journal of Ozark Studies"Perkins should earn applause for his spirited, well researched, provocative study." --Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Book Reviews"Hillbilly Hellraisers would benefit anyone interested in the roots of US rural poverty and our contemporary politics of division." --Missouri Historical Review"Perkins has written a smart, provocative, and important book." --Journal of the Gilded Age & Progressive Era "Perkins writes with verve, humor, and minimal jargon, focusing tightly on his thesis. This insightful addition to the University of Illinois Press's Working Class in American History series makes a welcome contribution to local and regional history." --The Journal of American History "Put Hillbilly Hellraisers on your bookshelf, next to other works about rural radicalism and conservatism." --American Historical Review "Perkins has meticulously researched the development of populism and the resulting defiance of the yeomanry of the Arkansas Ozarks. . . . By avoiding generalities, the author breaks through easy stereotypes to arrive at the specific circumstances that led to the development of the conservative Ozarker mindset." --Kansas History "In an age of deepening political and cultural divisions between the rural and urban sections of the United States, studies that seek to explain the source of rural conservative anti-elite and antigovernment politics are needed more than ever. Perkin's contribution definitely advances our understanding of this phenomenon." --Labor "Hillbilly Hellraisers is an important study because it sheds light on the failures of rural reforms that bred discontent. Perkins's detailed investigations uncover highly localized power dynamics, while his century-long scope reveals the broader evolution of resistance to federal power." --Rural History "Hillbilly Hellraisers is a stunningly original work that manages to clarify the actions of a misunderstood people at the same time that it reasserts complexity into their allegedly simple lives. Blake Perkins reminds us that regional stories have national, even universal, significance, but to truly appreciate that significance we have to first approach the stories of Ozarkers and other regional groups on their own terms and on their own turf. A must-read for anyone studying the Upland South and for those seeking a fuller understanding of the changing nature of antigovernment protest."--Brooks Blevins, author of Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South "Using the Arkansas Ozarks as a case study, J. Blake Perkins sheds new light on the rise of antigovernment conservatism in rural America during the twentieth century. Well written and thoroughly researched, his book is a welcome addition to the study of modern politics."--Bruce E. Stewart, author of Blood in the Hills: A History of Violence in Appalachia

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Book SynopsisA deep account of the long transition towards capitalism and modernity in the rural United StatesTrade Review"Summerhill demonstrates that rural New Yorkers--like Americans as a whole--had a legacy of democratic activism that was at times disrupted or transformed, but never ruptured. I can think of few finer analyses of local politics--a masterful book."--Robert D. Johnston, co-editor of The Countryside in the Age of the Modern State: Political Histories of Rural America

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Book SynopsisFocuses on social and cultural mechanisms of loyalty to describe the circuits of trust and terror in Ottoman MacedoniaTrade ReviewLoyal Unto Death is a fascinating account of an anti-imperialist struggle that pushes readers to think beyond the nation. It will serve as a powerful resource for both students and scholars embarking on historical ethnography . . . Likewise, the book will be extremely valuable for those working on revolutionary movements in search of strategies to draw out the lived experiences of underground movements. * POLAR *[Keith Brown] takes as his central problem the question of how at the start of the twentieth century the Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (MRO) was able to grow so rapidly from a tiny band of conspirators to an organization capable of fielding some 20,000 participants in the Ilinden uprising of 1903. 119.5 * American Historical Review *Loyal unto Death is an innovative work that should inspire debate. * Slavic Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Archival Imagination at Work 1. Terminal Loyalties and Unruly Archives: On Thinking Past the Nation2. The Horizons of the "Peasant": Circuits of Labor and Insurgency3. The Oath and the Curse: Subversions of Christianity4. The Archive and the Account Book: Inscriptions of Terror5. The četa and the jatak: Inversions of Tradition, Conversions of Capital6. Guns for Sale: Feud, Trade, and Solidarity in the Arming of MRO Conclusion: The Archival Imagination and the Teleo-logic of NationAppendix 1. Documents of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Appendix 2. Biographies from the Ilinden Dossier

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