Rural Geography

Abstract

The entry includes a brief review of the historical evolution of rural geography in an examination of the shift from land use description to more theoretically informed social and economic analyses. Particular attention is given here to the debates surrounding the specificity of rural processes and the relationship between global and local level patterns of change within the developed world. The major part of the entry concentrates on recent developments within the subject, including the introduction of political economic and cultural approaches. Both perspectives have encouraged the development of theoretical debate within rural geography, bringing the sub-discipline more into the mainstream of geographical inquiry. In describing the contribution of political economic approaches the entry also discusses more recent work on rural governance and on the role of the state in rural areas. Particular attention is drawn to the recent use of cultural and feminist approaches in rural geography. It is argued that such approaches, with their emphasis on the construction of rural communities and detailed investigation of the social and economic relations operating in rural societies have made a significant contribution to the current interest in the study of rural people and places.