Reinventing Rural

Dr. Gregory M. Fulkerson is associate professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Oneonta. Dr. Alexander R. Thomas is professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Oneonta.

A dozen sociologists and interdisciplinary interlocutors theorize recent and ongoing transformations of rural life, with an overall geographical focus on the eastern and northeastern US. Topics covered include health, education, the “rural mystique,” tourism, environment, and economic revitalization efforts. Among studies of rural change, this volume is notable for its attention to the effects of energy development in rural areas, with chapters dedicating some attention to mountaintop removal techniques in mining, former coal towns, and oil/gas extraction. Several of the authors make instructive use of the concept of “urbanormativity,” which they define as the widespread tendency to cast urban lifeways as the default, with a resulting rural dependence on cities and easy degradation of rural life. Although the volume is enriched by careful case studies, many contributors are not shy about long-term and large-scale theorization of rural change, linking contemporary transformations to patterns of rural/urban interaction that extend back to the Neolithic and are shaped by the “planetary boundaries” of biodiversity, the nitrogen cycle, and climate change. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, specialists.

• Part I. Cautionary Tales and the Costs of Traditional Rural Development 1. The Need to Reinvent Rural, Alexander R. Thomas and Gregory Fulkerson2. Urban Dependency and Urbanormativity, Alexander R. Thomas3. The Rural Mystique in American Society, Fern K. Willits, Gene L. Theodori, and Michael W.P. Fortunato4. Reinventing Rural Environmental Justice, Laura McKinney5. Urbanization, Land Use, and Environmental Change: A Sociological Perspective, Matthew Clement6. Centralia, Pennsylvania: Disaster or Apathy? Carrie L. Kane and Alexander R. ThomasPart II. Reinventing Rural in an Urbanizing World7. Rural Economic Vitality, Gregory Fulkerson and Alexander R. Thomas8. Build it and They Will Come? The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and Jay Peak Resort, Aimee Vieira9. What do They Do up There? A Look at Two Non-Metropolitan Counties in New York State, Stephanie Bennett10. Reframing Rural Education: Implications of the Rural Mystique and its Absence in Educational Policy, Leanne M. Avery and Michael W.P. FortunatoChapter 11. Doggonit, People Live Here! The Unmet Challenges of Rural Behavioral Health, James Zians12. Conclusion: Reinventing Rural Revisited, Gregory Fulkerson and Alexander R. Thomas