Rural Sociology

Course Code:

SOC320

Semester:

Fall

Course Type:

Core

P:

3

Lab:

0

Laboratuvar Saati:

0

Credits:

3

ECTS:

5

Course Language:

English

Course Objectives:

To introduce students to rural sociology as a subfield of sociology; to study the core concerns and theoretical approaches that marked the beginnings of rural sociology; to explore various issues raised by rural sociologists, such as the social construction of “rurality” and rural identities; gender-based inequalities in rural communities; uneven regional development and social inequalities; the contemporary political economy of agriculture and the global food system; social conflicts over the use of natural resources; and peasant movements.

Course Content:

“The agrarian question” in classical sociology and in the Marxist tradition; socio-economic and political change affecting rural areas; gender and gender relations in rural life; the sociology of food and agriculture; and the past and the present of agriculture and rural life in Turkey.

Course Methodology:

1: Lecture, 2: Question-Answer, 3: Discussion, 9: Simulation, 12: Case Study

Course Evaluation Methods:

A: Testing, C: Homework

Vertical Tabs

Course Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of this course a student:

Teaching Methods

Assessment Methods

Will learn how the rural and the urban relate to each other in the global and historical contexts, and how this relationship shapes the modern world; how the social construction of the rural affects our perceptions of rurality; and how the rural is formed and transformed over time.

1,2,3

A, C

Will learn about the changing global food system and its effects on the rural areas, in particular, and the society, in general.

1,2,3

A,C

Course Flow

Week	Topics	Study Materials
1	Ders Programı ve Derse Giriş
2	- Tönnies: “Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft” - Hillyard: “A Problem in Search of A Discipline: The History of Rural Sociology”
3	- “Classical Marxism and the Agrarian Question” - “The Chayanovian Alternative”
4	- Thorner: “Chayanov’s Concept of Peasant Economy” - “Beyond the Classical Debates: The Changing Character of the Peasantry” - “Beyond the Classical Debates: The Future of the Family Farm”
5	- Campbell, et.al.: “Masculinity and Rural Life: An Introduction” - Brandth: “Rural Masculinity in Transition: Gender Images in Tractor Advertisements” -Bock: “Rurality and Gender Identity: An Overview”
6	- Rye: “Rural Youth’s Images of the Rural” - Matthews et.al.: “Growing-up in the Countryside: Children and the Rural Idyll”
7	- Beardsworth and Keil: “The Making of the Modern Food System” - “Beyond the Classical Debates: The Global Food System”
8	- Virata: “The WTO Agreement on Agriculture” - Glipo: “The WTO-AoA: Impact on Farmers and Rural Women in Asia” - Gonzales: “Institutionalizing Inequality: The WTO, Agriculture and Developing Countries”
9	ARA SINAV
10	-Tokar and Magdoff: “An Overview of the Food and Agriculture Crisis” -Holt-Gimènez and Shattuck: “Food Crises, Food Regimes and Food Movements: Rumblings of Reform or Tides of Transformation?” -Lappé and Collins: “World Hunger: Ten Myths” ** Video => Lecture by Eric Holt-Gimènez **
11	- Desmarais: “La Via Campesina” - Robles: “The Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) in Brazil” - Branford and Rocha: “Cutting the Wire: The Landless Movement of Brazil” - Collier: “Zapatismo Resurgent: Land and Autonomy in Chiapas”
12	- Patel: “What Does Food Sovereignty Look Like?” - “Nyéléni Declaration on Food Sovereignty” - “Interview: Paul Nicholson, La Via Campesina” - Schiavoni: “The Global Struggle for Food Sovereignty: From Nyéléni to New York”
13	- Öztürk: (selections from: “Agriculture, Peasantry and Poverty in Turkey in the Neo- Liberal Age”) “Foreword” and Chapter 1: “Introduction” Chapter 3: “The Development of Turkish Agriculture until 1980” Chapter 4: “Developments in the Structure of Agriculture in Turkey since 1980” Chapter 5: “Agricultural Policies, Market Conditions and Transfers”
14	- Öztürk: (selections from: “Agriculture, Peasantry and Poverty in Turkey in the Neo- Liberal Age”) Chapter 7: “Sociological Approaches to Recent Developments in Agriculture and Rural Turkey” Keyder and Yenal: “Agrarian Change under Globalization: Markets and Insecurity in Turkish Agriculture”

Recommended Sources

Textbook	Textbook Compiled by the Instructor Based on Several Sources
Additional Resources

Material Sharing

Documents
Assignments	Article Review
Exams	Mid-Term Exam; Final Exam

Assessment

IN-TERM STUDIES	NUMBER	PERCENTAGE
Article Review	1	50
Mid-Term Exam	1	50
Total		100
CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAMINATION TO OVERALL GRADE		40
CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE		60
Total		100

COURSE CATEGORY

Expertise/Field Courses

Course’s Contribution to Program

No	Program Learning Outcomes	Contribution
No	Program Learning Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	To raise individuals who are proficient in research methods in social sciences, and competent in carrying out sociological research.			X
2	To raise individuals who develop an interdisciplinary perspective by way of taking courses not only in the field of sociology but also those offered by different faculty and departments.				X
3	To raise individuals who have a firm grasp of the main topics and issues of the society in Turkey.		X
4	To raise social scientists who are competent in “sociology of organizations and institutions”, one of the major areas of sociology.	X
5	To raise social scientists who are competent in “political sociology and social change”, one of the major areas of sociology.		X
6	To raise social scientists who are competent in “social inequalities/stratification”, one of the major areas of sociology.			X
7	To raise social scientists who are competent in “culture and society”, one of the major areas of sociology.		X
8	To raise social scientists who have a command of the history of and the theories in social sciences.		X
9	To raise individuals who have the skill of expressing themselves well, verbally and in writing, and who are knowledgeable in the main requirements of academic writing.	X
10	To raise individuals who are capable of developing projects in different parts of the world, working for international organizations.		X

ECTS

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	14	3	42
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	15	4	60
Mid-terms	1	8	8
Final examination	1	20	20
Total Work Load			130
Total Work Load / 25 (h)			5,2
ECTS Credit of the Course			5

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