ABOUT THIS BOOK

Rural Literacies identifies the problems inherent in trying to understand rural literacy, addresses the lack of substantive research on literacy in rural areas, and reviews traditional misrepresentations of rural literacy.

This innovative volume frames debates over literacy in relation to larger social, political, and economic forces, such as the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on rural schools and the effects of out-migration, globalization, and the loss of small family farms on rural communities.

Drawing upon traditional literacy and composition research and employing theory from education and sociology, the text engages compositionists in broader conversations regarding rural literacies. The authors share strategies that will help compositionists participate in pedagogies that are rooted in a richer understanding of rural literacies and work toward sustainability for all communities in a globalized age.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Kim Donehower is an assistant professor of English and the director of the Red River Valley writing project at the University of North Dakota.

Charlotte Hogg is an assistant professor of English at Texas Christian University.

Eileen E. Schell is an associate professor of writing and rhetoric and the director of the composition and cultural rhetoric doctoral program at Syracuse University.

REVIEWS

“With its examination of the literacy practices of ordinary women and men in rural places, this book dispels the mischaracterization of rural literacy as lagging behind that of urban centers. Rural Literacies demonstrates that all educators concerned with environmental sustainability and economic justice have much to learn from the struggles and strategies of rural and small-town dwellers in the contemporary United States.”—Nancy Welch, University of Vermont

“Rural Literacies is an important piece of scholarship that challenges compositionists to think more critically about how rural America defines and is defined by our students.”—Bruce Ballenger, Boise State University

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Preface 00
Acknowledgments 00
1. Constructing Rural Literacies: Moving Beyond the Rhetorics of Lack, Lag, and the Rosy Past 00 
 Kim Donehower, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell
2. Rhetorics and Realities: The History and Effects of Stereotypes about Rural Literacies 00
 Kim Donehower
3. The Rhetorics of the Farm Crisis: Toward Alternative Agrarian Literacies in a Globalized World 00
 Eileen E. Schell
4. Beyond Agrarianism: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Place 00
 Charlotte Hogg
5. Toward a Sustainable Citizenship and Pedagogy 00
 Kim Donehower, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell
Appendix: Selected Bibliography on Rural Issues and Rural Literacies 00
Notes 00
Works Cited 00
Index 00