Fall
2009 Newsletter
New
Faculty Affiliate
Yong Chen
joined Oregon State University and the Rural Studies Program
in September 2009 after receiving his PhD in agricultural,
environmental and development economics at Ohio State University
in 2009. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Agricultural and Resource Economics and will have a research,
teaching and Extension appointment focused on rural economics.
In addition to teaching courses, Chen will conduct research
on rural-urban interdependencies and topics that lie at the
intersection of resource and rural economics, as well as provide
economics expertise to multidisciplinary rural research at
OSU.
Oregon
County Monitor
To help counties
track the progress of economic recovery and the reach of the
social safety net, RSP Faculty Affiliate Mindy Crandall
and RSP Program Coordinator Rich Sandler
have created the Oregon County Monitor. A useful summary of
county-level trends since January 2008, the Monitor gathers
indicators on jobs and business conditions and the use of
social safety net programs providing cash, food and housing
assistance. Find the Monitor at: http://ruralstudies.oregonstate.edu/index2.htm.
Fall
Term Courses
ANTH
471/571 CASH, CLASS AND CULTURE: HUNTER-GATHERERS TO CAPITALISM
Students explore the cultural and social effects of capitalism
in the contemporary world within the larger question of how
economics and society intersect and change over time. Special
emphases are put on food and work, but students explore the
linkages of global forces and local life in a variety of ways.
ANTH
481 NATURAL RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY VALUES
This online course investigates the relationships between
human communities and their environments from perspectives
of Human Ecology and Ecosystem Ecology. The scope of this
course will cover anthropogenic and ecological aspects of
global natural resource issues with an emphasis on North America.
The content includes review and application of basic principles
of ecology and social science including community dynamics,
resource management, stakeholder identification and value
analysis.
ANTH
486/586 ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD
This course covers
the role of food in human cultures, both past and present.
Topics include a discussion of different food procurement
styles, social movements affecting food and the political
economy of food. Students will look at the symbolic aspects
of food as well as its relationship with the environment.
AREC/PS/SOC
407 CURRENT ISSUES IN RURAL POLICY
This on-line seminar
examines the contemporary economic, social, cultural, political
policy issues affecting rural communities in America. Topics
include but are not limited to economic development and natural
resource management, individual and family well-being, cultural
identity and change, and local governance policy issues. Special
attention will be paid to rural issues affecting Latino and
Native American communities.
GEO
423/523 LAND USE
This course provides
students with the skills to develop a conceptual framework
for land use study. Additional topics include an analysis
of land as a resource, land use trends in the U.S., land use
principles, and management issues as related to planning.
HDFS
447/547 FAMILIES AND POVERTY
Students will examine
families in poverty focusing on the causes and consequences
of family poverty. The course includes topics such as global
economic factors affecting poverty, migration patterns, discrimination,
and policies and programs for families.
SOC
480/580 ENVIRONMENAL SOCIOLOGY
Students explore the evolution of environmental thought, paradigm
shifts, and institutional structures associated with environmental
concerns, social movements, and social impacts.
Publications
RSP Faculty Affiliates
Mark Edwards and Hannah Gosnell
both have articles published in the latest issue of Rural
Sociology. Edward's article is on the "Paradoxes
of Providing Rural Social Services: The Case of Homeless Youth"
while Gosnell's is entitled "Writing the New West: A
Critical Review."
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Kate MacTavish was published in Education.Com
on "Creating
Inclusive Classrooms and Communities for Rural Poor"
in May 2009.
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Roger Hammer was recently published in the
Journal of Environmental Management on “Housing
growth, forests, and public lands in Northern Wisconsin from
1940 to 2000” and in Society and Natural Resources
on “Demographic
trends, the wildland-urban interface, and wildfire management.”
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Hannah Gosnell and RSP Affiliated graduate
student Jesse Abrams were published in GeoJournal
on "Amenity
migration: diverse conceptualizations of drivers, socioeconomic
dimensions, and emerging challenges."
New Rural Studies
Program Working Papers include:
Federal
Land Management and County Government: 1908 - 2008 by
Vince Adams and Dawn Marie Gaid;
Two Papers
on the Economic Impacts on Oregon Counties of the Termination
of the Secure Rural Schools Act (#1,
#2)
by Bruce Sorte, Paul Lewin and Bruce Weber;
Local
Government Responses to Fiscal Stress: How do Oregon Counties
Compare? by Vince Adams ; and
Portland
Metro Core Economic Interdependence with its Rural Periphery:
A Comparison across Two Decades by David Holland, Paul
Lewin, Bruce Sorte, and Bruce Weber.
RSP
Faculty Affiliates in the News
RSP Community Economist
Bruce Sorte was featured in recent East Oregonian
articles on a local Rural
Symposium and on a
Study of Small Farms.
RSP Faculty Affiliates
Lena Etuk and Mark Edwards were
quoted in the same day recently in the Oregonian (Etuk on
retiree
migration and Edwards on rural
hunger).
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Roger Hammer was quoted in an Oregonian
article on August 16, "Wildfire risks rise along with
more homes in Oregon's forests."
Recent
Experiential Course
Communities
and Natural Resources
RSP Faculty Affiliates
Kate MacTavish and John Bliss
led their students on the fifth annual offering of COMMUNITIES
AND NATURAL RESOURCES, an advanced experiential learning opportunity
for graduate students.
This year the class
started September 8th on campus in Corvallis. After two days
on campus, the students visited Warm Springs Indian Reservation
and Wallowa County before returning to Corvallis on September
18th. In Warm Springs, students got to experience reservation
life firsthand by living with host families. In Wallowa County,
students met with many local residents and spent time on a
cattle ranch.
This course often
fills up, so be sure to inquire early if you are interested
in attending in the Fall of 2010.
Presentations
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Lena Etuk was invited to present at the Oregon
Public Performance Measurement Association meeting in Salem
in July. She presented “The Oregon Rural Community Vitality
Indicator Project: A participatory approach to data system
development.”
Lena Etuk
also traveled to Italy for the 9th International Society for
Quality of Life Studies Conference in Florence in July. There
she presented a paper co-authored with RSP Faculty Affiliate
Mindy Crandall, “Place-based information to guide place-based
action: Rural Community Vitality in Oregon, USA.”
RSP Community Economist
Mallory Rahe presented at a Pacific Northwest
Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP) data users workshop
in Reno, Nevada as part of the Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA) conference in September.
RSP Director Bruce
Weber traveled to Lexington, Kentucky on October
1 to make a presentation, “Education, Migration and
Local Labor Markets: Pathways out of Rural Poverty?”
to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Community
Development Applied Research Seminar. The theme of the seminar
was “Poverty in Appalachia.”
Other
Items of Interest
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Hannah Gosnell was recently notified that
her USDA Agricultural Prosperity for Small and Medium-sized
Farms proposal was funded for 2010-2013 for $500,000. Hannah
is the Project Director. Co-Principal Investigators are Lauren
Gwin (OSU Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics),
Cass Moseley and Max Nielsen-Pincus (UO, Institute for a Sustainable
Environment), and James Honey (Sustainable Northwest). The
proposal title is "Enhancing the Capacity of Small and
Medium-Sized Ranch and Forestry Operations to Prosper From
Payment for Ecosystem Services."
The Rural Studies
Program is sponsoring a seminar by Emery
Castle, Professor Emeritus in the Department
of Agricultural and Resource Economics and founder of the
RSP, titled "Rural People and Places --- Familiar Subject,
New View." The seminar will be held on Monday November
16th from 3-5 PM in Room 213 of the OSU Memorial Union. Ethan
Seltzer, Professor and Director of the School
of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University,
will be offering a response to Castle's presentation.
Look for an announcement
soon about a new series of Issue Briefs on the topic of Community
Vitality.
Spring
2009 Newsletter
New
Faculty Affiliate
Mallory
Rahe joined the Rural Studies Program in March 2009 as the
Extension Community Economist for Western Oregon. She recently
completed a master’s degree at the University of Illinois
in the Departments of Agricultural Economics and is currently
pursuing a PhD at Illinois in Urban and Regional Planning.
Mallory earned a BS in agricultural and consumer economics,
with an emphasis on policy, international trade, and development.
In her master’s studies, she focused on stabilizing
rural areas through technology, innovation, and other economic
opportunities. Mallory will be working with communities in
Western Oregon to provide assistance on community vitality,
community development as well as other support.
Spring
Term Courses
ANTH
471/571 CASH, CLASS AND CULTURE: HUNTER-GATHERERS TO CAPITALISM
Students explore the cultural and social effects of capitalism
in the contemporary world within the larger question of how
economics and society intersect and change over time. Special
emphases are put on food and work, but students explore the
linkages of global forces and local life in a variety of ways.
ANTH
481 NATURAL RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY VALUES
This online course investigates the relationships between
human communities and their environments from perspectives
of Human Ecology and Ecosystem Ecology. The scope of this
course will cover anthropogenic and ecological aspects of
global natural resource issues with an emphasis on North America.
The content includes review and application of basic principles
of ecology and social science including community dynamics,
resource management, stakeholder identification and value
analysis.
PS
475/575 ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS AND POLICY
This
courses looks at environmental and natural resource issues
and policies in national and regional context, emphasizing
public attitudes, elections, Congress, public policy, and
relevant national and state agencies.
SNR
520 SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES
Using readings, personal experiences, and class discussions,
students explore five principles of socially sustainable natural
resource management, and review the role they play in creating
natural resource-based sustainable communities.
SOC
475/575 RURAL SOCIOLOGY
This course helps students understand the rich diversity in
rural society, with an emphasis on the interdependencies between
urban and rural contexts. Current issues and social problems
experienced by rural populations and how sociology is used
to understand and address issues affecting rural communities
are explored.
SOC
481/581 SOCIETY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Students explore the complex interrelationships between humans
and natural resources, emphasizing how management decisions
and organizations are enmeshed in social and cultural contexts.
SOC
485/585 CONSENSUS AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Students will use a working group approach. They will select
a natural resource topic, study the team process and interaction
as a method of learning, explore the issue using systems practice,
and strive for consensus on solutions to their issue.
Publications
The
Rural Studies Program published a new Fact Sheet, written
by Faculty Affiliate Mark Edwards, on hunger in Oregon: Understanding
Food Insecurity and "Hunger" in Oregon.
RSP Faculty
Affiliate Kate MacTavish and OSU graduate student Devora Shamah
published at Rural Research Brief: Making
Room for Place-Based Knowledge in Rural Classrooms, in
the Winter 2009 Rural Educator.
RSP
Faculty Affiliates In the News
Roger
Hammer was quoted in the Portland
Daily Journal of Commerce on job sprawl near Portland.
Mark
Edwards was quoted in the Oregonian
on the increase in food stamp applicants across Oregon.
Joan
Gross reported on Oregon's Linguistic Landscape in the Winter
2009 edition of Terra.
JunJie
Wu reported on the remoteness of rural communities in Oregon's
Agricultural Progress.
Bruce
Sorte wrote an article on ideas for community responses to
the tough economic times which was published in The
Dalles Chronicle.
Spring
Break Experiential Course
Learning
Through Listening: Native American Issues in Rural Oregon
Communities
RSP Faculty
Affiliates Kurt Peters and Dwaine Plaza again led their students
on a Spring Break RSP Sponsored Field Course from March 23
to March 27, 2009.
Students
were part of a unique learning experience in which they took
a non-traditional action research approach to learning. Students
spent five days interacting with the Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians and related stakeholders on the Oregon coast.
By carefully listening to and interacting with different rural
community stakeholders including: school officials, human
health and service providers, casino and gaming officials,
high school students, extension services personnel, fishing
industry representatives, developers, law enforcement officers,
and tribal leaders, students began to develop a better understanding
of the complex cross-cultural issues that face Native American
populations in rural Oregon today.
Presentations
RSP Faculty Affiliate
Hannah Gosnell presented
in the Forest Ecosystems and Society Seminar Series (April
8) on the Klamath Basin conflict: “Shift Happens”:
How Native Americans and Native Fish are Changing Rural Environmental
Governance in the American West.
Professor
Gosnell also presented a poster at the annual meeting of the
Society for Range Management and the annual meeting of the
Association of American Geographers (AAG) titled: Adapting
Private Forest and Rangeland Management to Mitigate Climate
Change: Policies and Practices. She was also on a panel
at the AAG conference called - Studying
exurbia and amenity migration.
RSP Community
Economist Mallory Rahe and RSP Director Bruce Weber presented:
The
Changing Economy and its Impact on Oregon Communities
at the Extension Family and Community Development meeting.
Other
Items of Interest
Consider
Spending a Year Serving Rural Oregon with the Resource Assistance
for Rural Environments (RARE) Program -
Application deadline is May 15, 2009.
The Rural
Studies Program was represented at Rural
Oregon day in Salem in March and was a sponsor of Regards
to Rural IV.
RSP Community
Economist Bruce Sorte was injured in a fall from a ladder,
but is recovering and working out of an on-campus office in
Corvallis for a few more weeks to complete physical therapy
in Corvallis. He plans to be back in Eastern Oregon soon.
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