• Identify important economic, cultural, political, environmental social, and technological interconnections between the country and the city.
• Identify important factors that characterize the country and differentiate it from the city.
• Assess local economic, social, environmental, and cultural changes in rural places in the context of regional, national, and global change.
• Critique popular myths about rural identity (in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality).
• Appreciate valuable features of contemporary rural identities and at the same time imagine more progressive ways of “being rural.”
• Imagine ways that rural places can preserve valuable traditional practices, cultures, and landscapes while incorporating modern practices, cultures, and landscape features.
• Understand the opportunities and challenges that people living in rural areas face.
• Know how to effectively and efficiently read scholarly articles and extract the most important ideas and information. 
• Identify sources of demographic, geographic, economic, historical and cultural data about rural localities.
• Write a theoretically informed geography of a rural area using primary (newspaper articles, statistics, etc.) and secondary (other research) sources. 
• Value the contribution of country music to American and other national cultures and possibly even appreciate country music a little bit more than when they started the class.
• Be able to do a simple line dance.

What this Course is About

What differentiates and connects the country and the city in an age of globalization, high speed transportation, and instant communication?  Some of the supposed characteristics of country life include isolation, agriculture and other extractive industries, being closer to nature, and small town or rural values. These days however, suburbs are replacing farm fields and the nearest Wal-Mart is just minutes away. Manufacturing has moved out of the city to exurban and rural locations and competes with tourism and agriculture as the primary form of economic activity. "Lone Eagles" telecommute to their jobs in the big city from a cabin in the woods. The natural environment has also been heavily modified by human activities in most rural areas. Finally, accompanying all these shifts is increasing cultural and class diversity which challenges the idea of a common set of rural values as recent immigrants and rural gentrifiers move into town. While some rural areas are thriving in a global economy, others are dying out as the young leave their elders behind in search of opportunity. Why the different outcomes? What can rural areas do to compete in the global economy? What about rural culture? First of all, is there a distinct rural culture and if so what are its characteristics and are they universal?  Is rural culture disappearing with increasing urbanization?  Country Music, to take just one aspect, has an interesting historical and contemporary geography. To what extent does country music come from the country? To what extent is country music American?  You might be surprised to learn that country music, line dancing, and western wear are incredibly popular in Germany, Australia, Great Britain, Japan, and even Thailand. Is this some funhouse mirror reflection of U.S. culture or is country music rooted in the country wherever it may be around the globe? Will there be a job for you in the Country after you graduate from college? How do we value the country and the city differently? How is the country different from the city? How are the country and the city interconnected? Can the city exist without the country? Can the country exist without the city. In short, does the rural still matter in this era of globalization, Facebook, and Kenny Chesney? These are among the many questions we will address this semester.

Course Format

This course is taught using a seminar format which means that our default activity will be discussion of assigned readings.  That said, we will certainly be creative with our discussions and engage in some role playing, slide viewing, music listening, dramatic readings, dancing, small group discussions, and diagramming with smelly markers. There will be few if any lectures.

Texts

Reading is essential for this course and will be the primary way that you learn the content of the course.  You will need to purchase two books for this semester.

• Woods, Michael.  2005.  Rural Geography: Processes, Responses, and Experiences in Rural Restructuring.  Los Angeles: Sage.  ISBN 978-0-7619-4761-5
• Fox, Aaron.  2004.  Real Country: Music and Language in Working-Class Culture. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3348

Additional articles are available via the Library’s article databases and Online and are listed at the end of this syllabus.  Links are available on the course web site.  

Assignments

Reading and Discussion

The readings will provide the basis for our daily discussions.  Take some time to digest and reflect upon your reading and come to class with questions, ideas, or insights prompted by the readings.  A good discussion is one in which members of the class talk with each other about the material rather than with the instructor.  A good discussion is also one in which everyone listens and responds fairly and respectfully to what other people say.  A good discussion is one in which no single person dominates and classmates invite contributions from each other.  Disagreement is good, but at the same time, it is important that discussions focus upon major points of disagreement rather than minor ones.  At times it will be necessary to agree to disagree and move on.  A good discussion is one in which people share arguments rather than opinions.  Your instructor and classmates are less interested in your opinion than in why you hold that opinion.  A good discussion is focused upon the material at hand rather than the opinions and personal experiences of people who have not done the reading but who insist on participating anyway. You will be graded on your participation in discussion and attendance in class (for more details see attendance and participation under Course Policies below). 

Reading Journal

Your reading journal is connected to several of the course goals including most directly learning techniques for reading scholarly texts, but also being able to understand the content of the course and being a more confident student.  You may keep your journal in a format that is convenient for you; in a spiral notebook, on a computer, or on loose leaf paper that is compiled into a binder for example. The Zotero bibliographic manager plug in for Firefox (www.zotero.org) could be used.  Use the notes tab to enter your journal entries in addition to the bibliographic information it automatically imports and then print a report. Whatever format you use, you should be able to bring your journal to class.  You will hand in your journal for a grade twice during the semester.

Create an entry for each reading assignment that you do throughout the semester and complete it as you read.  You may not always have time to fully complete an entry, but be sure to come back to it. Your reading entries should follow the structure set out in the Reading Entry Template (see below).  It will not be necessary for you to take detailed notes that summarize what you are reading (though you may do so if you wish).  Instead note new vocabulary, references to significant authors or texts, black boxes (sections you don’t yet understand), and questions that occur to you while reading.  Underline significant passages in the text  itself and write down a page number with a note for future reference. When you complete the reading you will need to write a one sentence summary of the reading.  If you wish you may also write a short abstract and do some freewriting in response to the reading. 

Adopt a Place Research Assignment

This assignment will last throughout the semester and includes a number of individual parts.  Further details and full assignments will be provided to you.  In brief the assignment consists of the following individual parts:

1. The Rural Landscape

   For this assignment you will pick a rural place.  It could be a small town, rural county, or rural region.  Make sure that you can find a local source of news online or otherwise and that you have a way to gather information about this place.  This will be the region you will research for the rest of the semester.  Then you will use Google Maps or Google Earth (or another such program) to view air or satellite photos of the place.  You will also search You Tube, and the web for other evidence of the landscape. You will then try and determine what makes it rural or part of “the country.”

2. Small Town News

   Throughout the semester you will need to regularly read the news from the place you have adopted.  On selected Fridays when we don’t learn a line dance (see below) you will have the opportunity to share news from the place with your classmates, especially news related to the topics discussed in the course. You will need to present news at least twice.

3. Demographic Aspects of Change

   You will use the U.S. Census to describe the demographic make up of your rural place for two periods and analyze the changes that have taken place.

4. Economic Development and Environment

   For this assignment you will find out about and describe the major industries, employers, recreation and tourism opportunities, environmental assets and liabilities, and challenges involved with each for your place.

5. Culture and Identity Reflection

   For this assignment you will write a reflection paper on social issues and issues of class, race, gender, sexuality, etc. in the place you have chosen in relation to the readings from the course.

6. Write a Country Song

   For this assignment you will need to write a country song (at least three verses and a chorus) that captures the essence of life and culture in the place you have chosen and applies what you have learned about country music.

7. Final Research Paper

   Your final research paper will be a compilation and revision of the previous assignments with the addition of an introduction and a conclusion that relates your findings about the place you studied to the theories and literature that we have discussed throughout the semester. If you lost points on the previous assignments you may gain them back if your revisions are sufficient.  Ultimately it should answer the major question of the course for the place you choose: What differentiates and connects the country and the city in an age of globalization, high speed transportation, and instant communication? 

 

Reflection Paper on Real Country

On one of the days that we read Real Country you will write a 2-3 page reflection paper that raises questions about a chapter and that focuses on issues you would like to see discussed. It will become the basis for our class discussion. You will be assigned a chapter and your reflection paper will be due on the day it is discussed.

Final Reflection Paper

You will write a final 1 to 2 page reflection paper, due on the last day of class, that makes connections between what you have learned in the course and your own understanding of your current and future vocation. How is rural geography connected with your vocation?

Final Exam

The final exam will assess the degree to which you have achieved several of the course goals.  All or part of the exam may be given as a take home assignment due during the scheduled exam period. Details will be provided before the exam.

Line Dancing

On selected Fridays we’ll learn a new line dance.  Why?  Well why not? We might arrange some sort of optional, unofficial, and informal line dancing “final exam.”

Field Trips

There are no field trips for this course.  You’re living in the country (or near it) for goodness sakes. Put on your boots, step out your door, hop in your pickup truck (or car) and go discover the country on your own.  Besides, all the farms are shut down for the winter, the county fair isn’t till summer, and there’s no way I’m going to put in a travel request for a field trip to a honky-tonk. 

Grades

The final grade will be based upon the following.

Assignment	Percent	Points
Attendance and Participation	5%	25
Reading Journal	10%	50
Adopt a Place Research Assignment (50% or 250 pts)
Rural Landscape	5%	25
Small Town News (present 2 times)	2%	10
Demographic Aspects of Change	10%	50
Economic Development and Environment	10%	50
Culture and Identity Reflection	10%	50
Country Song	5%	25
Final Research Paper	7%	35
Reflection paper on Real Country	10%	50
Final Reflection Paper	5%	25
Final Exam	20%	100
Total	100.00%	500

Course Policies

The Student’s Responsibility for Learning Course Content

It is the student’s responsibility to learn the content of the course (theories, concepts, ideas, etc.) by doing the reading assigned for the day, thinking about it before class, and talking to the professor about gaps in understanding.  Many courses that you take rely upon lecture to deliver the content that you are expected to learn.  In this course your readings are the primary means by which you will learn the content of the course.  In other words, I expect that you will attend class having already learned at a basic level the major concepts and ideas to be discussed each day.  Our class sessions will be devoted to reviewing the material you have read in order to solidify your understanding, answering questions prompted by the reading, introducing new material where appropriate, applying what you have learned to understand specific cases, and critically analyzing the material you have read.  As with all your classes, you should expect to do two to three hours of work outside of class for every hour in class.  Please manage your time appropriately. 

Policy on Late Assignments

You must hand in all of your assignments on time.  If because of circumstances beyond your control you need more time to complete an assignment please see me ahead of time (a day in advance) to ask for an extension.  Extensions may or may not be granted depending upon the circumstances.  If you must turn in an assignment late and you did not ask for an extension, include a written explanation of the reason for its tardiness along with the assignment.  If the explanation is judged to be inadequate the assignment will not be accepted or will be accepted for reduced credit.

Attendance and Participation

Regular attendance is essential for doing well in this class!  I expect on-time attendance for all class sessions unless you are ill, you are required to attend a university event, you have a family emergency, or you have made prior arrangements with me. If you must miss class for these reasons please provide me with a written note or an e-mail so that I can excuse your absence in my records. If you send me e-mail please place the words “GEO475 Absence” in the subject line to help me in my record keeping. Absences for any other reason will lower your grade. Please be on time to class. Coming in late distracts your professor and your fellow students and often some of the most important ideas are presented at the beginning of class. You will lose attendance points if you are consistently late.

I will be assessing participation during the semester by taking notes on both the quantity and quality of your contributions to our formal discussions.  Because of the small size of this course all members of the class will need to participate in order to make the course a success.  If you have difficulty speaking up in class, come see me and we can find some strategies to make you more comfortable. I will do my best to provide a comfortable and welcoming environment for discussion.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know during the first week of class so that your learning needs may be appropriately met.  All discussions will remain confidential.

Authorized Aid and the Honor Code

The Honor Code will be upheld in this course.  Authorized aid in this class will be limited to your own personal knowledge and your own work on all written exercises.  You are encouraged to use the services of the writing center and you should have someone else proofread or offer suggestions on your written assignments before handing them in.  You are encouraged to discuss readings outside of class but your reflection papers, critical reviews, and research paper should be your own work.  You must use quotation marks for direct quotes, cite your sources, and include a list of works cited in your critical reviews and research paper and in other assignments as appropriate. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and may be considered unauthorized aid because you are essentially representing someone else’s work as your own. Many first year students mistakenly believe that it is OK to cut and paste text from web sites into their papers without providing both quotation marks and a proper citation. Web sites are no different from any other source and need to be cited fully. If you do not know how to cite your sources or have any questions about this, please talk to your professor. Finally sharing your papers written for this class with others on the Internet without notifying the professor first or downloading papers written by others to hand in (either in part or in their entirety) constitutes unauthorized aid.

Experimental Nature of this Course

This course has never been taught before and includes both tried and true elements as well as experimental ones.  Given that, please be patient should circumstances require adjustments to assignments, the course schedule, or other aspects of the course.  Please feel free to provide feedback.  Should changes be necessary that affect the composition of your final grade, the changes will always be made to your benefit.

Acknowledgements and Dedication

Thanks to Andy Henry who got me thinking about offering this course in the first place.  Students in the Spring 2008 Urban a Regional Planning course asked questions that solidified my desire to explore the issues in this course in more depth.  Andy Henry, Stephen Hudak, Joel Mathwig and Luke Kanclerz all provided input on what they would like to see in the course.  The responsibility for what was ultimately included is of course my own. Thanks to Garret, Dan, Krystol, Heather, Carl, Kyle, Ricky, Jessica, Steve, Josh P. Josh C, Chuck, Fred, Stan, Frank, Ozzy, Roscoe, Chris, James, Riley, Tabitha, Colt, Ike, Jack, Roxane, Jim, Lois, John, and all the others who made me feel at home in the country and from whom I’ve learned much about farmin’, dancin’, singin’, playin’, workin’, four wheelin’, fishin’, saddle bronc ridin’, Luke Bryan meetin’ and greetin’, tractor pullin’, fair goin’, playin’ bags, and other activities ending with in’ over the past few years.  Matt for helping with some of the previous, for getting me on a horse, and for house-sitting so I could go see the country down under.  Mark Bjelland introduced me to the field of Rural Geography though he didn’t know it at the time.  Finally thanks to Bob Douglas for giving me the farm tour and driving that tractor around on my first day in Minnesota. Apologies to anyone I’ve left out.  This course is dedicated to the memory of Ben Liesch.  I think he would have dug it.

Schedule and Readings

Reading Journal Template

 

Addendum

Standards for Written Work in The Country and the City

Your written work (the analytical essays and the final paper, etc.) should conform to the following standards:

·    Papers should be typed, double spaced with one inch margins, using a Times Roman or other similar serif font.  Courier style fonts are not to be used).  Papers should be stapled in the upper left hand corner. Plastic report covers should not be used.

·    Papers should cite sources and use the author date style of referencing commonly used in the discipline of geography.  See a copy of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers for examples.

·    Research papers should make use of sources from the World Wide Web only when the source is a government agency or other reliable institution, and online version of a print resource (i.e. article databases), or when it is the online source itself that is the subject of the research.  See your professor concerning the appropriateness of using sources from the Web.  You should not use Wikipedia or other online encyclopedic references in a college level paper.  

·    Where appropriate use section headings.

·    Papers should be free of mechanical and grammatical errors. 

·    Papers should conform to the requirements of the specific assignments (given above).

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