Communities in rural America are a complex mixture of peoples and cultures, ranging from miners who have been laid off in West Virginia, to Laotian immigrants relocating in Kansas to work at a beef processing plant, to entrepreneurs drawing up plans for a world-class ski resort in California's Sierra Nevada. Rural Communities: Legacy and Change uses its unique Community Capitals framework to examine how America's diverse rural communities use their various capitals (natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built) to address the modern challenges that face them.

Each chapter opens with a case study of a community facing a particular challenge, and is followed by a comprehensive discussion of sociological concepts to be applied to understanding the case. This narrative, topical approach makes the book accessible and engaging for undergraduate students, while its integrative approach provides them with a framework for understanding rural society based on the concepts and explanations of social science.

This fifth edition is updated throughout with 2013 census data and features new and expanded coverage of health and health care, food systems and alternatives, the effects of neoliberalism and globalization on rural communities, as well as an expanded resource and activity section at the end of each chapter.

About the Author
Cornelia Butler Flora is Charles F. Curtis Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Agriculture and Life Sciences at at Iowa State University.Jan L. Flora is professor in the Department of Sociology at Iowa State University.Stephen P. Gasteyer is assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Michigan State University.

Reviews
"I have used this book since the first edition came out. The key strength of that edition and each edition that followed has been the conceptual framework of community capitals that helps students understand the connectivity between social, cultural, economic, and political issues and how they relate to the built and natural environments. This framework allows students to comprehend the complexity of community and to identify strengths and weaknesses in their own communities that can be used in promoting purposeful and positive change." --Conner Bailey, Auburn University "Rural Communities is the most complete textbook that I know of for the social science approach to understanding communities. The Floras are successful in combining basic concepts and theories of community with practical examples that students and professionals can use for their work and in their own communities. The book challenges students to take a critical look at communities, including underlying processes and structures that exist in all communities." --Richard Maurer, University of Kentucky "Rural Communities: Legacy and Change is a well-organized, highly readable text introducing students to rural sociology. The use of personal vignettes to illustrate key concepts and the theoretical Community Capitals Framework to facilitate discussion of critical components of rural communities help students come to understand the dynamics of stability and change in those communities." --Liza Kuecker, Western New Mexico University "...a cogent overview of the theory, issues, and applications that drive current-day rural studies. The book is very readable, and provides adequate, thorough coverage. If [undergraduate students] engage the material they will find a wealth of stories and case studies that illustrate and highlight the issues facing rural communities today." --Ben Amsden, Plymouth State University "The Floras have provided creative and useful sociological analysis of rural populations and rural living which is deeply and convincingly argued." --Kathryn Hovey, New Mexico State University Praise for the Previous Editions: "This text contributes to pedagogical effectiveness, student learning and empowered community practice. The text is well written, clearly organized, engaging, insightful and readable for a wide range of audiences." --Teaching Sociology



Book Information
ISBN 9780813349718
Author Cornelia Butler Flora
Format Paperback
Page Count 504
Imprint Westview Press Inc
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 680g