Reclaiming the Rural : Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy

In "Reclaiming the Rural: Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy," editors Kim Donehower, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell bring together a diverse collection of essays that consider literacy, rhetoric, and pedagogy in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The essays move beyond the typical arguments for preserving, abandoning, or modernizing by analyzing how rural communities sustain themselves through literate action. The contributors explore the rhetorics of water disputes in the western United States, the histories and influences of religious rhetoricsin Mexico, agricultural and rural literacy curricula, the literacies of organizations such as 4-H and Academia de la Nueva Raza, and neoliberal rhetorics. Central to these examinations are the rural populations themselves, which include indigenous peoples in the rural United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as those of European or other backgrounds. The strength of the anthology lies in its multiple perspectives, various research sites, and the range of methodologies employed, including rhetorical analyses of economies and environments, media, and public spaces; classroom-based research; historical analysis and archival work; and qualitative research. The researchers engage the duality between the practices of everyday life in rural communities and the practices of reflecting on and making meaning. "Reclaiming the Rural "reflects the continually changing, nuanced, context-dependent realities of rural life while acknowledging the complex histories, power struggles, and governmental actions that have affected and continue to affect the lives of rural citizens. This thought-provoking collection demonstrates the value in reclaiming the rural for scholarly and pedagogical analysis. In Reclaiming the Rural: Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy, editors Kim Donehower, Charlotte Hogg, and Eileen E. Schell bring together a diverse collection of essays that consider literacy, rhetoric, and pedagogy in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The essays move beyond the typical arguments for preserving, abandoning, or modernizing by analyzing how rural communities sustain themselves through literate action. The contributors explore the rhetorics of water disputes in the western United States, the histories and influences of religious rhetorics in Mexico, agricultural and rural literacy curricula, the literacies of organizations such as 4-H and Academia de la Nueva Raza, and neoliberal rhetorics. Central to these examinations are the rural populations themselves, which include indigenous peoples in the rural United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as those of European or other backgrounds. The strength of the anthology lies in its multiple perspectives, various research sites, and the range of methodologies employed, including rhetorical analyses of economies and environments, media, and public spaces; classroom-based research; historical analysis and archival work; and qualitative research. The researchers engage the duality between the practices of everyday life in rural communities and the practices of reflecting on and making meaning. Reclaiming the Rural reflects the continually changing, nuanced, context-dependent realities of rural life while acknowledging the complex histories, power struggles, and governmental actions that have affected and continue to affect the lives of rural citizens. This thought-provoking collection demonstrates the value in reclaiming the rural for scholarly and pedagogical analysis. A river runs by it : the performance of rural civic ethos in the Wind River water disputes / Marcia Kmetz Toward a critical agricultural legacy / Cori Brewster "Get more from your life on the land" : negotiating rhetorics of progress and tradition in a neoliberal environment / Cynthia Ryan Rural literacies, postindustrial countrysides : Resolana, Entre seco y verde, and the shadow of the atomic age / Damián Baca Women's words, women's work : rural literacy and labor / Jane Greer Latent abilities : the early grange as a mixed-gender site of rhetorical education / Carolyn Ostrander "I pledge my head to clearer thinking" : the hybrid literacy of 4-H record books / I. Moriah McCracken "They make a lot of sacrifices" : religious rhetorics in the formation of the Mexican rural education system / Susan V. Meyers Voices of young citizens : rural citizenship, schools, and public policy / Robert Brooke The Arkansas Delta oral history project : understanding poverty through literacy outreach / Christian Z. Goering ... [et al.] For all students in this place / Valerie Mulholland Living with literacy's contradictions : Appalachian students in a first-year writing course / Sara Webb-Sunderhaus Sustaining a rural Pennsylvania community : negotiating rural literacies and sustainability / Thomas Butler and Jacqueline Edmondson. "Reclaiming the Rural : Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy brings together a diverse collection of essays that consider literacy, rhetoric, and pedagogy in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The essays move beyond typical arguments for preserving, abandoning, or modernizing, rural places to analyze how rural communities sustain themselves through literate action. The strength of the anthology lies in its multiple perspectives, various research sites, and the different methodologies employed. Topics range from the rhetorics of water disputes in the western United States to the legacy of religious influences in Mexican rural schools; from training rural teachers in Canada to educating Appalachian college students; and from the literacies of the 4-H and the Grange to La Academia de la Nueva Raza." --Publisher description Brings together a diverse collection of essays that consider literacy, rhetoric, and pedagogy in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The essays move beyond the typical arguments for preserving, abandoning, or modernising by analysing how rural communities sustain themselves through literate action.