Broadlands and the New Rurality: An Ethnography

by Sam Hillyard

Overview

In this ethnographic study of the rural idyll, Broadlands explores rurality and the pace of rural life. In sharp contrast to the urban analytical emphasis upon speed, it gives careful thought to stasis, as rural places offer everyday opportunities for very different social situations and behavioural interactions. Based on new and extensive RCUK-funded primary research, Sam Hillyard generates an original, rigorous and thoughtful understanding of everyday rural life in the 21st century. 

Taking the principles of dramaturgy and rural studies scholarship, Broadlands provides a toolkit to make sense of rural change. It uses ethnography to enhance interactionist dramaturgy via cross-references with new theoretical orientations that emphasise the temporal dynamics of space in a 'knowing capitalism'. Where early dramaturgy stressed formal organisations in shaping roles and identity, Broadlands expands these concepts to include informal and transient organisations and associations. 

Ultimately, the book advances a new model for grasping the complexity of the rural. For researchers and students ofrural and urban sociology, this is an engaging text that reframes our understanding of rurality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781839095818
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	01/13/2020
Series:	Emerald Points
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sam Hillyard is Professor of Sociology at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. She is series editor of Studies in Qualitative Methodology (Emerald Publishing) and an editorial board member of Qualitative Research.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Thinking About Rurality 
Chapter 2. Norfolk: The Agrarian Revolution and the Emergence of an Elite 
Chapter 3. Patterns of Ownership in Modernity 
Chapter 4. A Village of Three Parts 
Chapter 5. Village Institutions #1: The School, the Pub and the Church 
Chapter 6. Village Institutions #2: The Very Model of a Modern Rural Villager 
Chapter 7. A Tale of Three Villages: Norfolk, 'Economy' Norfolk and Northants 
Chapter 8. Methodological Note