Welcome to Rural Sociology 11: Introduction to Rural Sociology

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Welcome to Rural Sociology 11 Introduction to
Rural Sociology

• Today
• Introductions (us and you to each other)
• Course Syllabus and Requirements
• Brief introduction to Rural America
• Pictures and names!!!

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Welcome to Rural Sociology 11 Introduction to
Rural Sociology

• Professors
• Dr. Diane K. McLaughlin, Dr. Richard C. Stedman
• Associate professor of rural Assistant professor
  of rural
• sociology and demography sociology
• 110C Armsby Building 111B Armsby Building
• 863-8626 or dkk_at_psu.edu 863-8644 or
  rstedman_at_psu.edu
• Tues 9-10 Wed 130-230 Mon 10-11 Thurs 10-11
• Email or call if these times dont work with
  your schedule!!!

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Welcome to Rural Sociology 11 Introduction to
Rural Sociology

• P. Johnelle Smith
• Graduate Teaching Asst.
• 307 Armsby Building
• pjs264_at_psu.edu
• Hours by appointment
• Course Website http//www.courses.psu/r_soc/r_soc0
  11_dkk/

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Readings

• Flora, Cornelia Butler, Jan L. Flora, with Susan
  Fey. 2004. Rural Communities Legacy and Change.
  Second Edition. Boulder, CO Westview Press.
  (Required)
• Schaefer, Richard T. 2002. Sociology A Brief
  Introduction. Fifth Edition. New York
  McGraw-Hill. (Optional)
• Other required readings are on the course web
  page
• http//www.courses.psu.edu/r_soc/r_soc011_dkk/

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Requirements and Grading

• Reading assignments (Read by the class they are
  assigned)
• Lectures and discussion
• Exams
• 2 mid-terms (October 7, November 4) (20 of
  grade, each)
• Final exam during finals week (20 of grade)
• Course project
• Group component (Dec 2) (20 of grade)
• Individual component (Dec 9) (10 of grade)
• Attendance and participation (10 of grade)
• Extra Credit options
• Newspaper analysis (up to 3 extra credit
  percentage points)
• Student survey completion (up to 2 extra credit
  percentage points)

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Course project issues(see website for
instructions)

• Circleville Farms (PSU) how should this land be
  used and how should the decision be made?
• Gambling as a rural development strategy a good
  idea?
• Bison / cattle ranching conflicts in the West
• Revisions of Roadless Areas on Federal Lands
• The costs and benefits of rural school
  consolidation
• No Child Left Behind impacts on the quality of
  rural education

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Grading elements summary(review)

• Mid-term exam 1 20 Oct 7
• Mid-term exam 2 20 Nov 4
• Final exam 20 Finals
• Group project 20 Dec 2
• Individual part of group project 10 Dec 9
• Attendance and participation 10 every class
• Extra credit Newspaper assignment 3 Nov 18
• Extra credit student survey 2 TBA

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Other syllabus elements

• Active learning elements
• Academic honesty
• Disability services
• Nondiscrimination
• Course schedule and assigned readings

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Course schedule and assigned readings

• Each date for every class is listed with the
  planned reading assignments and topics we will
  cover, these may be adjusted during the
  semesterchanges will be on the web
• Be sure to complete the readings before the class
  for which they are assigned
• All course information (including powerpoint
  summaries) is available at the course web site!!
• http//www.courses.psu/r_soc/r_soc011_dkk/

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Looking at rural America through the lens of
rural sociology

• Use a sociological perspective to understand
  rural people, communities, industry, well-being
  and links to the environment
• Examine institutions, organizations and beliefs
  and how they influence individual and family
  well-being in rural America.
• Increase understanding of how and why things
  happen as they do.
• Challenge some of our assumptions and stereotypes
  about rural people and places

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Looking at rural America through the lens of
rural sociology (cont.)

• Think critically, from a sociological
  perspective, about what we are told or read and
  what we see happening around us (you will
  specifically apply these ideas in the group
  project and the newspaper extra credit
  assignment)
• A sociological perspective can help us to
  understand why / how nice, well-meaning people
  can have very different views on the same issue.
• Why are things the way that they are? Should
  they be changed? How would we do that?
• Who decides?

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Basic Organization of the Course

• What makes rural areas and people different from
  urban areas? Are they different?
• Culture and socialization
• Characteristics of the people
• The nature of business and industry, reliance on
  natural resources
• Stratification of society (local, regional and
  national)
• The strengths/weaknesses of rural communities
• The use, abuse and stewardship of natural
  resources and the environment
• These key issues are covered individually, but we
  also try to show the interconnections.

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Two important things to remember.

• There is great variability within rural America
  on each of the aspects of society that we will be
  studying, we will try to provide you with a sense
  of that variability
• Just because you know about your rural area,
  doesnt mean that you can make assumptions about
  all rural areas.

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Why are you interested in rural America?OR why
are you taking RSOC 11 instead of Soc 1?
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What is YOUR reliance on rural people and places?

• What generation of your family last lived on a
  farm? In a rural area?
• What did you have for lunch? Where did it come
  from?
• What are the clothes you are wearing made of?
  Where did that material come from?
• How about the building we are in?
• Where does the waste/garbage you generate go?

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Issues facing rural America
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Quick Quiz on Rural America

• Pennsylvania has the largest rural population of
  all states. True or false
• About 90 of rural African Americans live in the
  South. True or false
• Extractive industries (farming, forestry and
  mining) are the predominant source of earnings in
  nonmetro America. True or false

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Quick Quiz (cont.)

• More than half of Americas farms have sales
  under 10,000. True or false
• Poverty among female headed households with
  children in nonmetro areas is higher than that of
  female-headed households with kids in metro
  areas. True or false
• Poverty among African Americans is higher in
  nonmetro areas than in central cities of metro
  areas.
• True or False

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Answers

• Pennsylvania has the largest rural population of
  all states.
• FALSE
• In 2000, Pa had the third largest rural
  population (2.8m), Texas was first (3.6m), then
  North Carolina (3.2m)
• About 90 of rural African Americans live in the
  South.
• TRUE
• But, African Americans were 8.2 of the nonmetro
  population compared to 14.1 of the metro
  population in 2000. 23.5 of central city
  population is Black.

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Answers

• Extractive industries (farming, forestry and
  mining) are the predominant source of earnings in
  rural America.
• FALSE
• This is true in some counties, but overall in
  nonmetro counties, only 6.7 of earnings come
  from extractive industries.
• Consumer services make up the largest share of
  earnings (22.8). Manufacturing and government
  contribute 21.4 and 20.4, respectively.

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Answers

• More than half of Americas 2,064,709 farms have
  sales under 10,000.
• TRUE
• Large family and nonfamily farms are 9.5 of
  farms, have 67.1 of production value, 31.7 of
  acreage.

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Answers

• Poverty among female headed households with
  children in nonmetro areas is higher than that of
  female-headed households with kids in metro
  areas.
• TRUE
• 40.9 of nonmetro vs. 32 of metro in 2000
• In addition, fully one-fifth of nonmetro children
  live in poverty.

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Answers (cont.)

• Poverty among African Americans is higher in
  nonmetro areas than in central cities of metro
  areas.
• True
• 29.1 of African Americans in nonmetro areas are
  poor compared to 26 in central cities of metro
  areas.

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Questions?
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Please provide the following information on an
index card

• Name
• Major
• Where you grew up (farm, rural, suburban, urban
  area)
• Your hometown
• Your home state

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Next Class

• What is rural America?
• Read chapter 1. The rural landscape in the
  Flora Flora book.
• Please be patient leaving class, we would like to
  get photos so that we can more easily learn your
  names.