Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century

David L. Brown is Professor of Rural Sociology at Cornell University and former President of the Rural Sociological Society.Louis Swanson is Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University and former President of the Rural Sociological Society.

• ContentsList of TablesList of FiguresAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Rural America Enters the New MillenniumDavid L. Brown and Louis E. SwansonPart I: Who Lives in Rural America Today?New Directions in Population Change and Diversity1. Unpredictable Directions of Rural Population Growth and MigrationKenneth M. Johnson2. African Americans in Rural AmericaRosalind P. Harris and Dreamal Worthen3. American Indians: Their Contemporary Reality and Future TrajectoryAngela A. Gonzales4. Latinos in Rural AmericaRogelio Saenz and Cruz C. TorresReshuffling and Remaking Rural Families5. What Do Rural Families Look Like Today?Katherine MacTavish and Sonya Salamon6. Older Rural FamiliesNina Glasgow7. Rural Children and Youth at RiskDaniel T. Lichter, Vincent J. Roscigno, and Dennis J. Condron8. Rural Women: New Roles for the New Century?Ann R. Tickamyer and Debra A. Henderson9. Rural Poverty: The Persisting ChallengeLeif Jensen, Diane K. McLaughlin, and Tim SlackPart II: A Transformed Rural Economy10. How People Make a Living in Rural AmericaDavid A. McGranahan11. Who Benefits from Economic Restructuring? Lessons From the Past, Challenges for the FutureWilliam W. Falk and Linda M. Lobao12. Commuting: A Good Job Nearby?Leanne M. Tigges and Glenn V. Fuguitt13. Continuities and Disjunctures in the Transformation of the U.S. Agro-Food SystemFrederick H. Buttel14. Tourism and Natural Amenity Development: Real Opportunities?Richard S. Krannich and Peggy PetrzelkaPart III: The Rural Community: Is It Local? Is It a Community?Perspectives on Community15. Community Agency and Local DevelopmentA. E. Luloff and Jeffrey C. Bridger16. Social CapitalCornelia Butler Flora and Jan L. Flora17. Civil Society, Civic Communities, and Rural DevelopmentThomas A. Lyson and Charles M. TolbertThe Social Institutions That Maintain and Reproduce Community18. The Global/Local InterfaceAlessandro Bonanno and Douglas H. Constance19. Competition, Cooperation, and Local GovernanceMildred E. Warner20. ReligionLeland Glenna21. Promoting Educational Achievement: A Partnership of Families, Schools, and CommunitiesLionel J. Beaulieu, Glenn D. Israel, and Ronald C. Wimberley22. Rural Health PolicyLois Wright MortonPart IV: People and the Environment: Tough Tradeoffs in an Era with Vanishing Buffers23. Transforming Rural America: The Challenges of Land Use Change in the Twenty-First CenturyDouglas B. Jackson-Smith24. Community and Resource Extraction in Rural AmericaLynn England and Ralph B. Brown25. Fur, Fins, and Feathers: Whose Home Is It Anyway?Steven E. Daniels and Joan M. BrehmPart V: Changing National and International Policies: New Uncertainties and New Challenges26. What Role Can Community Play in Local Economic Development?Gary Paul Green27. Devolution: Who Is Responsible for Rural America?Jeffrey S. Sharp and Domenico M. Parisi28. Welfare Reform in Rural Areas: A Voyage through Uncharted WatersJulie N. Zimmerman and Thomas A. Hirschl29. The Impact of Global Economic Practices on American FarmingPhilip McMichael30. Catalytic Community Development: A Theory of Practice for Changing Rural SocietyKenneth E. Pigg and Ted K. BradshawConclusion: Challenges Become Opportunities: Trends and Policies Shaping the FutureLouis E. Swanson and David L. BrownReferencesContributorsIndex

“Brown and Swanson (both former presidents of the Rural Sociological Society) present one of the finest overviews available of sociological issues facing the rural US today.”—E. J. Krieg Choice