 | Attendance (5 percent of final grade) and Participation (15 percent of final grade) |
| Three short papers (16 percent of final grade each) |
| Exams (16 percent of final grade each) |
3:55 - 5:15 TR |
141 Grise Hall |
Professor: |
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| Douglas Smith | |
| 126 Grise Hall | Phone: (270) 745-3750 |
| Department of Sociology | Email: Douglas.Smith@wku.edu |
| Western Kentucky University | Webpage: people.wku.edu/Douglas.Smith/ |
| 1906 College Heights Blvd. #11057 | |
| Bowling Green, KY 42101-1057 | |
| Office Hours: By appointment. | |
Poverty ranks among the most persistent, pernicious and controversial of social problems. Comparatively high rates of malnutrition, morbidity and mortality, and sub-standard housing, low education, and low self-esteem are but a few of the regrettable correlates of poverty. While most agree that poverty needs to be ameliorated, antipoverty programs and policies have always generated vigorous debate. However, most antipoverty programs have assumed an urban setting. The purpose of this seminar is to provide comprehensive understanding of the rural poverty -- in particular American rural poverty. We will consider the implications of alternative definitions of poverty; the characteristics of the poor and the relationship between the poor and the rest of society; the theoretical causes of poverty; and the policies that we have used to ameliorate rural poverty. This course seeks to provide students with an understanding of how rural poverty is studied by scholars and the various contexts in which we understand this issue.
This course is a reading-and-discussion course. Discussions will focus on primary source materials. Each student brings a wide variety of experiences, assumptions and theoretical starting-points and are encouraged to bring thoughtful comments to class and listen to those of others. Students are required to attend all class meetings and come to discussions having already read and thought about the texts.
The first objective of the course is to increase the level of awareness of the nature and scope of poverty in contemporary rural America. The second objective is to develop an understanding of the explanations for existence of poverty. And thirdly, to encourage students to critically examine the public policy options for dealing with poverty in rural areas.
Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services, Room 445, Potter Hall.
The Office for Student Disability Services telephone number is (270) 745-5121, (270)
745-5004 V/TDD.
You should discuss any accommodation you need with them and they will give you a form listing the approved accommodations to give to me to sign. This process should be completed by the end of the second week of class.
Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from me (Dr. Smith) without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.
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Class attendance and participation is mandatory. | ||
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Three short papers of 3-5 pages will be assigned in class. | ||
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There will be a midterm and a final exam |
NOTE: Dates and Course materials may be changed at the professor's discretion.
Class Period |
Topics and Readings |
| January 26 |
IntroductionDefining the problemWhat are the opportunities and crises involved with rural poverty? Whose job is it to solve rural poverty?
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| January 28 |
What is rural?Wilkinson, Kenneth P. 1993. "Rural and Social Interaction." in Kenneth P. Wilkinson, The Community in Rural America. Pp. 54-8. Middleton, WI: Social Ecology Press. WEBSITE: UDSA-ERS Rural Classifications: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx To go deeper:Wang, Man, Rachel Garshick Kleit, Jane Cover, and Christopher S. Fowler. 2012. "Spatial Variations in US Poverty: Beyond Metropolitan and Non-metropolitan." Urban Studies 49(3):563-585. |
| February 2 |
What do we mean by poverty? Who/Where are the poor?Tirado, Linda. 2014. "Introduction." in Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. Pp. xiii-xxvi. New York: Berkley Books. Dail, Paula vW. 2015. "We Ain't Got Much, But We Got Plenty: Understanding Rural Poverty When the Usual Criteria Don't Apply." in Hard Living in America's Heartland: Rural Poverty in the 21st Century Midwest. Pp. 43-57. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. WEBSITE: Food Access Research Atlas: To go deeper:Short, Kathleen S. 2005. "Material and Financial Hardship and Income-Based Poverty Measures in the USA." Journal of Social Policy 34(1):21-38. Wight, Vanessa, Neerah Kaushal, Jane Waldfogel, and Irv Garfinkel. 2014. "Understanding the Link between Poverty and Food Insecurity among Children: Does the Definition of Poverty Matter?" Journal of Child Poverty 20(1):1-20. Weber, Bruce, Leif Jensen, Kathleen Miller, Jane Mosley, and Monica Fisher. 2005. W" International Regional Science Review 28(4):381-414. WEBSITE: Wider Opportunities for Women Economic Security Scorecard:
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| February 4 |
What do we know about stratification systems? How does this attach to our understanding of rural poverty?Davis, Kingsley and Wilbert E. Moore. 1945. "Some Principles of Stratification." American Sociological Review 10(2): 242-49. Tumin, Melvin M. 1953. "Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis." American Sociological Review 18(4): 387-97. Gans, Herbert J. 1972. "The Positive Functions of Poverty." American Journal of Sociology 78(2): 275-89. Panayotakis, Costas. 2014. "Capitalism, Meritocracy, and Social Stratification: A Radical Reformulation of the Davis-Moore Thesis." American Journal of Economics and Sociology 73(1):126-150.
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| February 9 |
Movie (Winter's Bone) -- Dr. Smith at Annual Meetings of Southern Rural Sociological Association
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| February 11 |
Anderson, Leon and David A. Snow. 2001. "Inequality and the Self: Exploring Connections from an Interactionist Perspective." Symbolic Interaction 24(4):395-406. Shucksmith, Mark. 2012. "Class, Power and Inequality in Rural Areas: Beyond Social Exclusion?" Sociologia Ruralis 52(4):377-397. To go deeper:Angle, John. 1986. "The Surplus Theory of Social Stratification and the Size Distribution of Personal Wealth." Social Forces 65(2):293-327. Seiyama, Kazuo. 2000. "The Modern Stratification System and Its Transformation." International Journal of Sociology 30(1): 7-36. Rye, Johan Fredrik. 2006. "Leaving the Countryside: An Analysis of Rural-to-Urban Migration and Long-Term Capital Accumulation." Acta Sociologica 49(1):47-65.
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| February 16 |
Why are people poor? Rural Sociological Society Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty. 1993. "Human Capital Theory" In Persistent Poverty in Rural America. Pp. 42-9, 64-7. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Lewis, Oscar. 1966. "The Culture of Poverty." Scientific American 215(4): 19-25. Gorski, Paul. 2008. "The Myth of the Culture of Poverty." Educational Leadership 65(7):32-38. Dwight B. Billings and Kathleen M. Blee. 2000. "Conventional Models of Appalachian Poverty and Politics." In The Road to Poverty: The Making of Wealth and Hardship in Appalachia. Pp. 8-17. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
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| February 18 |
Rank, Mark R.; Hong-Sik Yoon; and Thomas A. Hirschl. 2003. "American Poverty as a Structural Failing: Evidence and Arguments." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 30(4): 3-29. Sameti, Majid, Rahim Dallali Esfahani, and Hassan Karnameh Haghighi. 2012. "Theories of Poverty: A Comparative Analysis." Kuwaiti Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review 1(6):45-56.
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| February 23 |
Nuances of the problemWhat are some of the obvious effects of rural poverty?Sherman, Jennifer. 2014. "Rural Poverty: The Great Recession, Rising Underemployment, and the Under-Utilized Safety Net." Pp. 523-539 in Conner Bailey, Leif Jensen, and Elizabeth Ransom Rural America in a Globalizing World: Problems and Prospects for the 2010s. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press. Latimer, Melissa and Rachel A. Woldoff. 2010. "Good Country Living? Exploring Four Housing Outcomes Among Poor Appalachians." Sociological Forum 25(2): 315-334. Foulkes, Matt and K. Bruce Newbold. 2008. "Poverty Catchments: Migration, Residential Mobility, and Population Turnover in Impoverished Rural Illinois Communities." Rural Sociology 73(3):440-462.
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| February 25 |
Clark, Sherri Lawson. 2012. "In Search of Housing: Urban Families in Rural Contexts." Rural Sociology 77(1):110-134. Schafft, Kai A. 2006. "Poverty, Residential Mobility, and Student Transiency within a Rural New York School District." Rural Sociology 71(2):212-231. Zekeri, Andrew A. 2010. "Household Food Insecurity and Depression Among Single Mothers in Rural Alabama." Journal of Rural Social Sciences 25(1): 90-102.
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| March 1 |
What are some of the hidden effects of rural poverty?Sennett, Richard and Jonathan Cobb. 1972. The Hidden Injuries of Class. Pp. 46-50, 121-136. New York: Vintage Books. Levine, Robert. 1997. "Time Literacy." In A Geography of Time. Pp. 187-190. New York: Basic Books. Lee, Matthew R.; Maume, Michael O.; and Ousey, Graham C. 2003. "Social Isolation and Lethal Violence Across the Metro/Nonmetro Divide: The Effects of Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Poverty Concentration on Homocide." Rural Sociology, 68(1): 107, 25p,
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| March 3 |
Armstrong, Elizabeth A., Laura T. Hamilton, Elizabeth M. Armstrong, and J. Lotus Seeley. 2014. "'Good Girls': Gender, Social Class, and Slut Shaming Discourse on Campus." 77(2):100-122. Tirado, Linda. 2015. "I've Got Way Bigger Problems Than a Spinach Salad Can Solve" Pp. 89-101 in Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. New York: Berkley Books. Tirado, Linda. 2015. "Being Poor Isn't a Crime -- It Just Feels Like It." Pp. 157-180 in Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America. New York: Berkley Books. Dunbar, Roxanne A. 1997. "Bloody Footprints." In Matt Wray and Annalle Newitz (eds.), White Trash: Race and Class in America. Pp. 73-86. New York: Routledge. Goad, Jim. 1997. "Playin' Hard." In The Redneck Manifesto. Pp. 126-37. New York, NY: Touchstone.
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| March 8 |
Spring Break |
| March 10 | |
| March 15 |
IntersectionsHow do poverty and race/ethnicity overlap?Stewart, Pearl. 2007. "Working but Poor: Perspectives from a Rural African American Family." Michigan Family Review 12:48-65. Leach, Mark A. 2010. Household Living Arrangements and Economic Resources among Mexican Immigrant Families with Children. University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series, DP2010-10. http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2010-10.pdf Lichter, Daniel T., Domenico Parisi, and Michael C. Taquino. 2011. "The Geography of Exclusion: Race, Segregation, and Concentrated Poverty." Social Problems 59(3):364-388. Video: The Forgotten Americans.
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| March 17 |
How do poverty and gender overlap?Snyder, Anastasia R., Diane K. McLaughlin and Jill Findeis. 2006. "Household Composition and Poverty among Female-Headed Households with Children: Differences by Race and Residence." Rural Sociology 71(4):597-624. Zimmerman, Julie N. and Lori Garkovich. 1998. "The Bottom Line: Making Ends Meet in Rural Kentucky." http://www.ca.uky.edu/SNARL/SEEDPubs/MonthlyBudget.PDF Zimmerman, Julie N., Deb Kershaw, and Lori Garkovich. 2000. "It's Not Just the Numbers: A Monthly Budget Case Study Update." http://www.ca.uky.edu/SNARL/SEEDPubs/MonthlyBudgetUpdate.PDF Harris, Rosalind P. and Julie N. Zimmerman. 2003. Children and Poverty in the Rural South. SRDC Policy Series. http://srdc.msstate.edu/publications/srdcpolicy/harris_zimmerman.pdf Kentucky Commission on Women. 2012. Employment and Earnings Fact Sheet. http://women.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/3367A3EA-9B91-47E3-B637-156376F969E0/0/EconomicandEmploymentHandout.pdf To go deeper:Weber, Bruce, Mark Edwards, and Greg Duncan. 2003. "Single Mother Work and Poverty Under Welfare Reform: Are Policy Impacts Different in Rural Areas." National Poverty Center Working Paper Series. http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/working_papers/paper7a/03-07.pdf Rogers, Carolyn. 2003. "Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare: Rural Child Poverty." http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/incomepovertywelfare/ChildPoverty/ Manning, Wendy, Heidi Lyons, and Meredith Porter. 2008. "Cohabitation and Child Poverty in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan America: 1995-2006." Bowling Green, OH: BGSU Center for Family and Demographic Research. http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/cas/file35779.pdf Broussard, C. Anne. 2009. "Going It Along: Single Mothers and Poverty." PP. 150-166 in Family Poverty in Diverse Contexts, edited by C. Anne Broussard and Alfred L. Joseph. New York: Routledge.
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| March 22 |
How do poverty and age overlap?Rogers, Carolyn C. 2000. "Summary" and "Implcations for the Future" Pp. iii-iv, 23-24 in Changes in the Older Population and Implications for Rural Areas. Rural Development and Research Report No. 90. 36 pp. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/rdrr90/rdrr90.pdf Goldberg, Shari and Barbara E. Mawn. 2014. "Predictors of Food Insecurity among Older Adults in the United States." Public Health Nursing 32(5):397-407. Durazo, Eva M., Melissa R. Jones, Steven P. Wallace, Jessica Van Arsdale, May Aydin, and Connie Stewart. 2011. "The Health Status and Unique Health Challenges of Rural Older Adults in California." UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://www.humboldt.edu/ccrp/sites/ccrp/files/briefs/ruralolderadultspb.pdf Folts, W. Edward, Kenneth B. Muir, and Bradley Nash, Jr. 2005. "Housing and the Older Rural Population." Journal of Housing for the Elderly 19(1):41-52. Bergeron, L. Rene. 2009. "Old and Poor: America's Hidden Problem." Pp. 167-183 in Family Poverty in Diverse Contexts, edited by C. Anne Broussard and Alfred L. Joseph. New York: Routledge.
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| March 24 | |
| March 29 |
Treating the Symptoms/Solving the ProblemThe Modern Welfare System and Rural Areas Arsneault, Shelly. 2006. "Implementing Welfare Reform in Rural and Urban Communities: Why Place Matter." American Review of Public Administration 36(2):173-188.
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| March 31 | |
| April 5 |
Welfare Reform and Food Assistance |
| April 7 | |
| April 12 |
Individual/Family SolutionsAlvarez, Sharon A. and Jay B. Barney. 2014. "Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Poverty Allevation." Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 38(1):159-184. |
| April 14 | |
| April 19 |
Local Community SolutionsBailey, Conner. 2013. "Local Solutions to Inequality: Steps Toward Fostering a Progressive Social Movement." Rural Sociology 78(4):411-428. Bradshaw, Ted K. 2007. "Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty Programs in Community Development." Community Development 38(1):7-25.
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| April 21 |
Regional DevelopmentWeber, Bruce A. 2007. "Rural Poverty: Why Should States Care and What Can State Policy Do?" Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 37(1):48-52 Shuai, Xiaobing. 2015. "Do Economic Development Efforts Benefit All? Business Attraction and Income Inequality" The Review of Regional Studies 45:35-56. Partridge, Mark D. and Dan S. Rickman. 2005 "High-Poverty Nonmetropolitan Counties in America: Can Economic Development Help?" International Regional Science Review 28(4):415-440. |
| April 26 |
Sectoral Dynamics of Poverty Reduction |
| April 28 |
Models of Economic Growth |
| May 3 |
Structural Transformation as the Long Run Way out of Poverty |
| May 5 |
DISREGARD EVERYTHING BELOW (MOVE ALONG PEOPLE; NOTHING TO SEE HERE. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN)
Wolff, Edward N. 2009. "Public Policy and Poverty Alleviation." Pp. 527-573 in Poverty and Income Distribution, 2nd edition. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Wolff, Edward N. 2009. "The Redistributional Effects of Public Policy." Pp. 574-626.
Ziliak, James P. 2010. "The Appalachian Regional Development Act and Economic Change." University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series, DP2010-14. http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2010-14.pdf
Allard, Scott W. 2006. "Access to Social Services in Rural America: The Geography of the Safety Net in the Rural South." http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/Newsletter-Vol5_1_Article2.pdf
Bean, Jessica A. 2011. "Household Reports of Energy Assistance Receipt Increased 48 Percent During Recession: Proposed Cuts Threaten Vulnerable Families." Carsey Institute Issue Brief No. 27. http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/IB-Bean-LIHEAP.pdf
Richardson, James A. and Jonathan K. London. 2007. "Strategies and Lessons for Reducing Persistent Rural Poverty: A Social Justice Approach to Funding Rural Community Transformation." Community Development 38(1):92-107
Davis, Daniel P. 2011. "All I Really Need To Know About Microfinance I Learned in Bangladesh." Bridges Spring:1-3.
Haralson, Lyn. 2011. "Campus Microfinance Funds: Connecting Campuses to Communities." Bridges Spring. 4-5.
Southern Rural Development Center. 2011. Turning the Tide on Poverty: Creating Vibrant Communities Together, 2nd edition. Mississippi State, MS: SRDC.
Martin, Megan C. and Koen Caminada. 2011. "Welfare Reform in the U.S.: A Policy Overview Analysis." Poverty and Public Policy 3(1):1-38.
Zimmerman, Julie N. 1998. "Getting Involved in Welfare Reform: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions." http://www.ca.uky.edu/SNARL/SEEDPubs/WelfRefAnswerstoQuestions.PDF
Pickering, Kathleen. 2000. "Alternative Economic Strategies in Low-Income Rural Communities: TANF, Labor Migration, and the Case of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation." Rural Sociology 65(1): 148-67.
Arsneault, Shelly. 2006. "Implementing Welfare Reform in Rural and Urban Communities: Why Place Matters." The American Review of Public Administration 36(2):173-188.
Pickering, Kathleen, Mark H. Harvey, Gene F. Summers, and David Mushinski. 2006. "Welfare Reform in Appalachian Kentucky" Pp. 123-147 in Welfare Reform in Persistent Rural Poverty: Dreams, Disenchantments, and Diversity. University Park, PA: Penn State Press.
Pruitt, Lisa R. 2007. "Missing the Mark: Welfare Reform and Rural Poverty." The Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice
Housing Assistance Council. 2008. "Easing the Transition: Housing Assistance for Rural TANF Recipients." http://www.ruralhome.org/storage/documents/easingthetransition.pdf
Lichter, Daniel T. and Rukamalie Jayakody. 2002. "Welfare Reform: How Do We Measure Success?" Annual Review of Sociology 28:117-41.
Winicki, Joshua, Dean Jolliffe, and Craig Gundersen. 2002. Issues in Food Assistance—How Do Food Assistance Programs Improve the Well-Being of Low-Income Families? ERS Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report No. FANRR26-9. 4 pp. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr26/fanrr26-9/fanrr26-9.pdf
Ribar, David C. and Karen S. Hamrick. 2003. "Dynamics of Poverty and Food Sufficiency." Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report No. (FANRR36) 33 pp. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr36/fanrr36.pdf
Connell, Carol L., Kathy Yadrick, Agnes Hinton, and Joseph Su. 2001. Food Insufficiency and the Use of Food Assistance Programs in the South. Southern Rural Development Food Assistance Policy Series. http://srdc.msstate.edu/focusareas/health/fa/fa_1.pdf
Ratcliff, Caroline and Signe-Mary McKernan. 2010. "How Much Does SNAP Reduce Food Insecurity?" The Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/412065_reduce_food_insecurity.pdf
Cason, Katherine L., Ruby H. Cox, and Janie L. Burney. 2002. "Do Food Stamps Without Education Improve the Nutrient Intake and Food-Related Behaviors of
Recipients?" Southern Rural Development Food Assistance Policy
Series. http://srdc.msstate.edu/focusareas/health/fa/fa_4_cason.pdf
Monroe, Pamela, Carol O'Neil, Vicky V. Tiller, and Jennifer Smith. 2002. "The
Challenge of Compliance: Food Security in Rural Households Affected by Welfare
Reform." Southern Rural Development Food Assistance Series.
Monroe, Pamela, Carol O'Neil, Vicky R. Tiller, Jennifer Smith, Susan Seab, Janet G.H. Marsh, and Stacey Willocks. "Assessing Food Security and Related Welfare Reform Outcomes in Two Southern States." http://srdc.msstate.edu/ridge/files/recipients/00_monroe_final.pdf
Baum, Charles. 2008. "The Effects of Food Stamps on Exiting Welfare and Becoming Employed for Welfare Recipients." UKCPR Discussion Paper DP2008-03. http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2008-03.pdf
DECEMBER 7 : The Upshot for this Region
Barber, Gerard M.; Stacy D. Shade; Daniel McAdam; and Robert Daugherty. 2002. Welfare Reform: Overview of Kentucky's Five-Year Experience.
Tickamyer, Ann, Debra Henderson, and Barry Tadlock. 2007. Does Welfare Reform Work in Rural America? A 7-Year Follow-Up." UKCPR Discussion Paper Series, DP2007-06. http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2007-06.pdf
Briggs, Brianna and Peter Kuhn. 2008. "Paying for the Relocation of Welfare Recipients: Evidence from the Kentucky Relocation Assistance Program." UKCPR Discussion Paper DP2008-01. http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2008-01.pdf
Black, Dan and Seth Sanders. 2009. "Inequality and Human Capital in Appalachia: 1960-2000. University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series, DP2009-11. http://www.ukcpr.org/Publications/DP2009-11.pdf
