Chayanov's ideas on rural development (farmer participation in agricultural evolution, increasing the scope and differentiation of extension activities, and using methods adapted to farmers' characteristics) could be usefully applied today in reforming Russian agriculture. (SK)

Presents a history of four phases of Canadian adult education: (1) agrarian radicalism, 1910-1945; (2) women's organizations and community development sites; (3) adult education and the crisis of democracy, 1929-1945; and (4) community building in Nova Scotia, 1954-1957. (SK)

Communication has played an important role in the dramatic transformation of the rural social system in the People's Republic of China since 1949. Mass media in China in the first two decades of communist rule were underdeveloped when compared with that of the Western world. Interpersonal communication, on the contrary, has been proved to be one…

The theme for this conference was "Our Town and Country Society Looks at Itself." The following papers were presented at this conference: (1) "The Miracle of Production--Can We Keep It" (Aubrey D. Gates); (2) "Recent U.S. Population Trends and Their Causes" (Calvin L. Beale and Donald J. Bogue); (3) "Commercial…

The role of schooling in the economic development process has been targeted as essential in both human capital theory and modernization theories. Research into the nature of underdevelopment in Central Appalachia has provided a basis for debate among regional scholars as to its causes and consequences, yet serious discussion of pre-modern…

Current interpretations of central Appalachia's chronic poverty focus on the region's economic dependence on the bituminous coal industry, controlled by absentee investors and serving an external market. Such theories overlook the ways in which the agricultural sector shaped subsequent industrial development. By analyzing the farm economy of 16…

Argues that the conflict between elevator and railway operators and the grain farmers of western Canada was not so one-sided as typically presented in high school textbooks. Concludes that the 'courts' of Canadian history have promoted a 'rural myth' of the grain growers associations, the cooperative spirit of the 'Wheat Pools,' and the political…

Describes the Skyline Farms Project in Appalachian Alabama, a largely unsuccessful attempt to transform ex-tenant farmers into independent landowners. Traces the history of Skyline Farms from the 1930s to the early 1940s. Describes community attitudes and social services (education, health, recreation, home economics). Discusses reasons for the…

Includes "Community Work in the U.K.: Reflections on the 1980s" (Miller, Bryant); "Multiplication and Divisions: Trends in Community Development in Ireland since the 1960s" (Cinneide, Walsh); "Reconstruction to Deconstruction: The Transformation of Community Work in Australia" (Meekosha; Mowbray): "Community…

Examines how the Mexican government's penetration into 299 rural and urban counties, 1900-40, was related to growth in trade and service jobs. Emphasizes the government's support for written literacy and mass schooling as subtle strategies for incorporating peasants into urban institutions. Contains 39 references. (SV)

This volume, fourth in a series, is devoted to a study of the depression years of the 1930s, a crucial period in the history of the Hispanic land-grant-villages. It places northern New Mexico in a broad regional and national context, examining the major currents of social and political thought in American society that influenced Hispanic New Deal…

Examines Eastern Cherokee opposition to the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway through the Qualla Boundary reservation in the late 1930s. Highlights the role of two teachers in the internal tribal debates over tradition, modernization, and the marketing of Cherokee culture to tourists. Contains many references in notes. (SV)

Advocates a greater emphasis upon rural history through the study of the farming frontier. Suggests methods for introducing this topic to students. Criticizes Turner's thesis for not recognizing the extent of homesteading after 1890 and for concentrating only on agrarian settlement in the Midwest. (KO)

China's official history maintains that the radical egalitarianism of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) led to economic disaster. This book challenges that view. Drawing on local interviews and records in rural Jimo County, Shandong Province, this study contends that the Cultural Revolution's political convulsions democratized village political…

Blacks who settled in the Western United States influenced the region's development in a number of ways, including agriculture, the cattle industry, mining, and business. (MC)