Geography 490c The Country and the City Fall 2009

Working in the Country

Topics to be discussed:

Changes in Rural Labor in the context of rural restructuring

Barriers to Employment

Gender and Work in Rural Areas

Migrant Labor

West Virginia Case Study

Discussion Questions

How has farm work changed with restructuring?
How are changes in the nature and kind of labor connected with counter-urbanization?
What are some of the barriers to employment in rural areas?
How has employment in rural areas changed for women?
What role to migrant workers play in the rural economy? How has migrant labor changed with agricultural restructuring?
What has rural restructuring meant for commuting?
What trends from the textbook can you identify in the article on mining and farming in West Virginia?
How did people integrate agricultural activities with mining early on?
How did the nature of work change in rural West Virginia with rural restructuring?
What was the relationship between labor and the environment in rural West Virginia? How did that relationship change with rural restructuring?
Why was the traditional agricultural way of life ultimately unsustainable?
What jobs allow for the same kind of self determination and independence in rural areas today if any?

Geo 490c The Country & the City Spring 2009 Department of Geography and Meteorology Valparaiso University
Today's Readings: Wood Chapter 18: Working in the Countryside Montrie, Chad. 2008. Continuity in the Midst of Change: Work and Environment for West Virginia Mountaineers. West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies 1, no. 1: 1-22. Reading Notes: As you read note the changes that have occured in rural working life due to restruturing. Can you identify how trends you read about last time play out in people's workin lives? As you read about minign in West Virginia see if you can make connections with what you have been reading about in your textbook.	Working in the Country Topics to be discussed: Changes in Rural Labor in the context of rural restructuring Barriers to Employment Gender and Work in Rural Areas Migrant Labor West Virginia Case Study Discussion Questions How has farm work changed with restructuring? How are changes in the nature and kind of labor connected with counter-urbanization? What are some of the barriers to employment in rural areas? How has employment in rural areas changed for women? What role to migrant workers play in the rural economy? How has migrant labor changed with agricultural restructuring? What has rural restructuring meant for commuting? What trends from the textbook can you identify in the article on mining and farming in West Virginia? How did people integrate agricultural activities with mining early on? How did the nature of work change in rural West Virginia with rural restructuring? What was the relationship between labor and the environment in rural West Virginia? How did that relationship change with rural restructuring? Why was the traditional agricultural way of life ultimately unsustainable? What jobs allow for the same kind of self determination and independence in rural areas today if any?

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