Kai A. Schafft, associate professor of educational leadership with affiliate faculty status in rural sociology, has co-authored a new book with David L. Brown, professor at Cornell University. “Rural People and Communities in the 21st Century: Resilience and Transformation” (Polity Press, 2011) examines the contemporary social, political, and economic context of rural people and communities in the United States, while analytically embedding that context within a broader global comparative perspective.
The new book provides an in-depth look at how rural populations, economies, and communities have persisted and changed over time in the face of broad-scale macro-transformations such as urbanization, metropolitan expansion, technological innovation, economic restructuring, and changing policy regimes. It also examines how rural people and communities have helped shape these macro-transformations
The authors discuss these trends and changes through alternative theoretical and public policy frameworks. In doing so, they contribute to a more critical perspective on the role and status of rural people, communities, and economies in metropolitan societies.
“David Brown and I are very pleased with this book. Our hope and intention is that it can become a key text for students, scholars, and policy makers interested in rural people and places,” said Schafft, director of Penn State's Center on Rural Education and Communities.