Critical Rural Theory: Structure, Space, Culture

Thomas, Alexander R.; Lowe, Brian; Fulkerson, Greg; Smith, Polly

ISBN 10: 0739135600 / ISBN 13: 9780739135600

Published by Lexington Books, 2013

About this Item

Near fine. Light shelf wear but minimal reading wear. Tight binding. Internally, bright and unmarked pages. A very nice copy with only light rubbing and one bumped corner.

Seller Inventory # 6566

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Critical Rural Theory: Structure, Space, Culture
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0739135600
• ISBN 13: 9780739135600
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Critical Rural Theory is an attempt to bring together the concepts of structure, space, and culture in order to explain the relationship between rural communities and urban society. The overarching theme revolves around the many ways-structural, spatial, and cultural-in which urban systems create and maintain a hegemonic relationship with rural areas and people. Central to this theme is the concept of urbanormativity: the cultural assumption of the dominance and superiority of urban communities and patterns of life. Urbanormativity is an outgrowth of the structural forces in an urban society that favor the interests of cities over those of the countryside, of a generally exploitative relationship between the two. The structure of a society is encoded in the settlement space, which in turn influences one's experience. The experience of social space produces cultural dynamics that are reproduced from generation to generation. These mechanisms are explored through popular culture, physical patterns of urban expansion, and historical patterns of social change.

About the Author

Alexander R. Thomas, Ph.D., is professor of sociology at SUNY Oneonta. He is co-editor, with Dr. Gregory Fulkerson, of the Urban-Rural Dynamics book series. He has published numerous books and articles on cities and their relationship with the countryside, including In Gotham's Shadow, The Evolution of the Ancient City, and Critical Rural Theory. He is also author of the newly released book The Sociological Predicament.