Download Rural Anthropology - Oregon State University

Rural Anthropology
Anthropology 466/566
4 credits
This course combines approximately 120 hours of instruction, field trips, and
assignments for 4 credits.
PREREQ: 3 credits of social science. This course is often accompanied by participation in
Ethnographic Field School (Anthropology 499/599) in rural Lakeview, Oregon, but this
is not a prerequisite to the course.
Rural Anthropology concentrates on the socio-cultural dynamics in rural communities in
a global context of political and economic changes. It includes readings by
anthropologists on rural issues in the US, Ecuador, Japan, France, and Uzbekistan; a field
trip to a rural Oregon town to talk with local leaders; and analysis of interview and
observation material collected by students in a rural community in terms of the broader
issues for rural communities.
Outcomes:
 To demonstrate understanding of anthropological literature on rural communities
and issues facing them around the world.
 To compare and contrast socio-cultural aspects of rural communities within the
global political economy.
 To analyze specific rural community data in relation to comparative literature on
rural communities.
 To communicate results of research in both writing and speech.
Additional outcomes for grad students:
 To critique readings on rural issues in terms of concepts and methods used.
 To demonstrate critical understanding of theoretical aspects of undergrad and grad
readings.
 To analyze data in terms of theoretical concepts presented in rural readings and to
analyze it in relation to contemporary theory in anthropology and other social
sciences.
 To demonstrate ability to lead and facilitate insightful discussion of class readings.
Evaluation of Student Performance:
Student performance will be measured in terms of: participation in class discussions, inclass writings, and peer-reviewed essays; take-home essays focusing on analysis of
readings, and relating these to class discussion, field trips, and students’ experience;
paper analyzing rural data and thinking about it critically in relation to relevant issues in
rural communities in the US and around the world.
Required readings:
 Salamon, Sonya, 2003, Newcomers to Old Towns: Suburbanization of the
Heartland.
 Du Bry, Travis 2007 Immigrants, Settlers, and Laborers: The Socioeconomic
transformation of a farming community.
 Class Packet of Readings
Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities
“Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability
Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are
responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during
the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are
eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS
should contact DAS immediately at 737-4098.”
Statement of Expectations for Student Conduct: Please refer to:
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm
Class Schedule: Readings and Assignments:
Week 1:
Rural Communities in the Western US:
Tuesday:
Paul F. Starrs, Cattle Ranching in the American West, Chapters 1&2
Thursday:
“Rural Reckoning: The Impacts of Corporate Globalization on Rural
Communities”, by Jennifer Sumner, in Sustainability and the Civil Commons: Rural
Communities in the Age of Globalization, pp. 30-58.
Dudley, Kathryn Marie. The Problem of Community in Rural America. Culture
and Agriculture. 18(2), 47-57. 1996.
Week 2:
Rural Communities in the Central US
Tues:
Salamon, Sonya, 2003, Newcomers to Old Towns: Suburbanization of the Heartland.
Chap 2, pp. 32-55
Thurs:
Each person (grad and undergrad) must read one of Chapters 3-9 in Salamon and report
on it in class.
Week 3:
Day-long field trip to nearby rural community for meetings with local leaders and
representative community people.
Week 4:
Oregon Rural Communities
Tues: Write a one-page, single-spaced report on the field trip with special attention to
one general rural issue and how it was illustrated in this rural community. Did you see
any debate on this issue among the community leaders?
Hibbard, Pope Talbot 1993 “Rural Economic Challenges in Northwest logging
communities” Chap 9 in Eds, Lyson, Thomas A. and Falk, William W.
Thurs:
In Forgotten Places: Uneven Development in Rural America, read:
Gilden, Jennifer: Women, Community Transition
McKeraghan, Amanda: Sustaining Locality
Week 5:
Hispanic Rural Communities in the US
Tues: Take-home essay due on US rural communities.
Du Bry, Travis 2007 Immigrants, Settlers, and Laborers: The Socioeconomic
transformation of a farming community.
Graduate students: 1-54
Undergrads: 31-54
Thurs:
Everyone reads one chapter of Chapters 3-7 in Du Bry and reports on it in class.
Week 6:
Rural Communities in Japan
Tues:
Traphagan, John W 2000 Taming Oblivion: Aging Bodies and the Fear of Senility in
Japan, Chapter 2 “Inaka (Rural/Country)” pp. 19-43.
Thurs:
Mock, John 2006 “The Social Impact of Rural-urban Shift: Some Akita examples.” In CS
Thompson and JW Traphagen, eds., Wearing Cultural Styles in Japan: Concepts of
Tradition and Modernity in Practice. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, pp. 25-46.
Week 7:
Rural Communities in Latin America (with focus on Mexico and Ecuador)
Tues: Collier, George with Elizabeth Quaratiello 1994 Basta! Land and the Zapatista
rebellion in Chiapas. Chap 1, p. 15-30. Nash, June Mayan Visions: The Quest for
Autonomy in an Age of Globalization. Chap. 6
Thurs: Camacho, Juana 2006 “Good to Eat, Good to Think: Food, Culture and
Biodiversity in Cotacachi In Robert Rhoades, ed. Development with Identity: Community,
Culture and Sustainability in the Andes. CABI Publishing
pp. 156-172. Grads read Sherwood, Stephen Learning from Carchi: Agricultural
Modernization and the Production of Decline. 2009, Chap.2
Week 8:
Rural Communities in Post-Soviet states (with focus on Uzbekistan)
Tues: Miller, Liesl LG and Patrick Heady 2003, pp. 257-292
Thurs: Khan, Azezur Rahman 2007 pp. 221-253. (The economically-oriented essay
emphasizes the organizational changes in Uzbek farms and is followed by three case
studies of farmers in different types of farms; read these first.)
Week 9:
Rural Communities in Europe (with focus on France)
Tues: Rogers, Susan Carol. Shaping Modern Times in Rural France 1991. Chap. 2; Bové,
José and François Dufour. The World is Not for Sale. 2001, Chap 1
Thurs: Take-home essay due on international rural communities.
"Which heritage? Nature, culture, and identity in French rural tourism." French
Historical Studies 25, no. 3. 200
Films: The Basques of Santazi and Jean de Florette
Week 10:
Tues and Thurs:
Presentations of final reports in class (See below)
Rough drafts of papers due on Thursday of Week 10.
Peer Reviews:. Give rough draft to one peer in class to critique. Each student will write a
response of at least 500 words as a peer reviewer; bulleted points may be used. Consider
organization and readability; coverage of material required; integration of ideas from
literature review with findings; recommendations. Send these to your peer partner by
email and cc them to the professor by Saturday at noon (Saturday after dead week and
before exam week).
Exam Week:
Wednesday: Final papers (hard copy) due at 12.
Assignments:
Final Paper:
 The final paper is a written narrative of a certain aspect of rural communities that
presents an analysis of data collected in one particular rural community, in
relation to concepts and comparative material from class and additional research.
The paper will usually be written on an aspect of socio-cultural life in a rural
Oregon community. Many students will have data from participation in the
Ethnographic Field School in Oregon, but this is not a prerequisite. Data may be
collected from another nearby rural community or from experience in a rural
community elsewhere in the US or world. Those with less on-the-ground data will
augment with detailed ethnographic accounts of rural communities, but at least
two interviews are required.
 Each topic will have its own literature that will be particularly relevant and will
help the student understand, explain, and expand their particular focus of research.
In the analysis, undergrad students should use at least 4 pieces of outside
literature, with 2 of these scholarly works of more than 10 pages. They will write
papers of 7-10 pages. Grad students should use 6 pieces of outside literature with
at least 4 of these scholarly works of more than 10 pages. Scholarly literature can
include articles and book chapters. This can be augmented with sources directly
from the community being analyzed or shorter news-based articles. Grad papers
should be 9-12 pages.
 Use 12-point font with double spacing throughout all papers.
 The paper should be accompanied by transcripts, coding, themes, and theme maps
that are developed in the course of analyzing the interviews for the paper.
 In the introduction, topic, location of research, and research foci, objectives, and
questions should be clarified.
 In the literature review, a broad explanation of the topic and community should be
developed in relation to a broader knowledge of rural life, both through
comparison with other communities and contextualization in widespread rural
issues. Grad students will develop the literature review more fully. In addition to
the above, they will demonstrate understanding of and debate about concepts that
explain rural communities and their contemporary contexts on a more theoretical
level.
 The methods section includes the methods used for collecting data and analyzing
data, as well as reflections on your own role in the study and limitations of the
study.
 The findings section presents the student’s data from interviews, observation, and
archival research. It will include the development of themes supported by
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evidence such as quotes and observations. Where relevant, bring in material from
outside sources and class readings for critique, contrast, and comparison.
The conclusion will consist of: (1) a discussion of findings in light of questions
asked in the introduction and of material presented in the literature review, (2)
further questions that need to be researched, and (3) a set of recommendations or
suggestions for the rural community as to actions that might be taken in relation to
the aspect of community explored. Grad students: Make sure that you include a
critique of concepts from the literature review in light of your data analysis/
findings.
The bibliography should include all sources used in the book. Choose a consistent
bibliographic form. Each bibliographic entry must correspond to a reference in the
paper. In the paper, please use the form (Smith 2009) after general information
and (Jones 1999:35) with page number after quotes. Quotes over 3 lines should be
single-spaced and indented. If you have an article in an edited book, all citations
should refer to the author of the article itself, with editors noted in the
bibliographic reference only.
Papers should be clearly and grammatically written and well-organized into
sections and paragraphs with clear topic sentences. Read over the topic questions
only and see if the flow of the paper makes sense.
Presentations will be given during Week 10. Presentations should be wellorganized power-point presentations of about 10 minutes with 5 minutes of
discussion afterwards. Include your main objectives or questions; main themes of
your findings with theme map; and how broader research expands the breadth of
your findings. For grads, include explanatory concepts that are particularly useful
(or not).
Take-home essays
Two take-home essays on rural communities, their issues, their contexts, and
concepts used to understand them: (1) a take-home essay on US rural communities in
Week 5 and (2) a take-home essay on international rural communities in Week 9. The
essay questions will be handed out a week before they are due. The tests emphasize the
readings, with input from class discussion, films, field trip, etc.
Grad students’ essays will include the extra readings that they report on in class
and will require critical attention to explanatory concepts and methods of data collection,
analysis, and writing in all readings.
Grad Student Reports:
All grad students will be required to do a 15-minute report in class on (a) a book
or (b) three scholarly articles concerning a socio-cultural aspect of rural communities in
the context of contemporary political economy. Topics and geographical foci are open.
Reports will include a power point or hand-outs that outline main points of data/findings
as well as concepts and methods used in the texts. After sharing information as
background, grad students will engage the class in a 10-15 minute discussion or exercise
that engages the students with the goal of broadening the students’ knowledge and/or
integrating this new information these new concepts with knowledge already attained in
the course. (This literature may be used in the paper as outside sources.)
Participation:

Participation grade will be determined through in-class writings, discussions, field
trip report, and peer review of paper.
Grading (undergrad):
2 Take-home essays (20% each)
Paper
Presentation
Participation
40%
30%
10%
20%
Grading (grad)
2 Take-home essays (20% each)
Paper
Presentation
Participation
Grad report
40%
30%
5%
15%
10%