Community and Rural Sociology (CRS) 336
AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT, AND COMMUNITY Fall 2012, Tu/Th 9:10–10:25 am, CUE 407 Instructor Jessica Goldberger (Associate Professor and Rural Sociologist) Department of Crop and Soil Sciences 223 Johnson Hall (office location) 509-­‐335-­‐8540 (office phone) jgoldberger@wsu.edu Office Hours: Tu/Th 10:45–11:45 am or by appointment Course Description This course is designed to introduce students to the sociology of agriculture and food systems. Particular attention will be paid to sociological perspectives on major trends in U.S. agriculture, responses to these trends (so-­‐called "alternative agrifood movements"), and the community impacts of different types of agrifood practices. The course will pay particular attention to the research methods used by sociologists who study agriculture and food systems topics. Prerequisite 3 credits [S] or [K] GER, or [SSCI] UCORE. Sophomore standing. Student Learning Outcomes At the end of the course students should be able to: (1) Describe major trends in U.S. agriculture from a sociological perspective. (2) Use Census of Agriculture data to track changes in U.S. agriculture. (3) Evaluate the ability of alternative agrifood movements (sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture, and the local food movement) to challenge major trends in U.S. agriculture. (4) Identify and evaluate the community impacts of different types of agrifood practices. (5) Understand the methods used by sociologists who study agriculture and food systems topics. (6) Develop more informed opinions about different types of U.S. agrifood systems. Required Readings All required readings are compiled in a CRS 336 Course Packet, which is available for purchase at Cougar Copies (CUB basement, 509-­‐335-­‐1647). Course Format Classes will include a combination of lectures, discussions, class exercises, and documentary film screenings. Lectures will cover the assigned readings (to a degree) and provide additional information not included in the readings. Discussions will focus on the assigned readings, documentary films, lecture material, hand-­‐outs, and class exercises. Assignments and Evaluation Students will be evaluated on the basis of attendance/participation, one Census of Agriculture assignment, four reflection papers, and three in-­‐class exams. Attendance / Participation Census of Agriculture Assignment Reflection Papers (4 total) In-­‐Class Exams (3 total) TOTAL 10% 10% 30% 50% 100% Final grades will be computed according to the following: A = 94–100% B = 83–86% C = 73–76% D = 60–66% A-­‐ = 90–93% B-­‐ = 80–82% C-­‐ = 70–72% F = 0–59% B+ = 87–89% C+ = 77–79% D+ = 67–69% Attendance / Participation – To excel in the course, it is essential to attend all classes. Each student will be allowed two absences from class without the need for official notes. Additional absences will require official notes. If you miss a class, you are responsible for obtaining class notes from a fellow student. Lecture notes and PowerPoint slides will not be available from the professor. Participation includes making comments or asking questions about the readings/videos/lectures in class, talking with the professor before or after class, meeting with the professor during office hours, and other forms of engagement in the course. Census of Agriculture Assignment – Details about this assignment will be provided in class. The assignment will be due in class on September 11. Late assignments will lose points. Reflection Papers – Students will be responsible for submitting four reflection papers about the assigned readings and in-­‐class videos. Each reflection paper should be 2–4 pages, typed, double spaced, 12 point font. The purpose of the reflection papers is to show that you (a) understood the readings/videos and (b) thought about the readings/videos in a rigorous, critical, skeptical, complimentary, or otherwise thoughtful manner. You will select readings/videos from the lists provided. Each reflection paper must include the following sections (of about equal length): Brief summary (the descriptive part of your paper): In your own words, state the author’s (or filmmaker’s) main argument, research question, or hypothesis. In addition, summarize the author’s (or filmmaker’s) research methods, key concepts/themes, study findings, and primary conclusions. Your reaction (the evaluative part of your paper): Reflect on the reading or in-­‐class video. You should address several of these questions in each reflection paper: •
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Was the author’s (or filmmaker’s) argument clear and convincing? Were the research methods appropriate? Did the author (or filmmaker) appear to have a strong bias? Were the author’s (or filmmaker’s) conclusions supported by the data presented? 2 Did you agree or disagree with author’s (or filmmaker’s) arguments/conclusions? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the reading or video? How could the reading or video be improved? What was missing? How does the reading or video relate to your own experience working on a farm, gardening, buying/preparing food, and/or participating in other agrifood activities? • How did the reading or video make you feel about a specific agrifood issue? Excited? Curious? Angry? Surprised? Confused? Skeptical? Optimistic? Reflection papers must relate to the following readings/videos: •
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Reflection Paper #1 Choose one or both: (a) "How Farm People Accept New Ideas" (b) "Adopters of New Farm Ideas" Due August 28 in class Reflection Paper #2 Choose one or both: (a) Ikerd (2000) (“New American Farmer”) (b) Broken Limbs video Due October 9 in class Reflection Paper #3 Choose one: (a) Goldschmidt (1978) and Carolan (2012) (b) Broadway and Stull (2008) (c) Glowacki-­‐Dudka et al. (2012) Due November 6 in class Reflection Paper #4 Choose one: (a) Sharp et al. (2002) (b) DeLind (1999) (c) Blanchard and Matthews (2007) (d) Urban Roots video Due December 6 by 4 pm (bring to 223 Johnson Hall) Evaluation of the reflection papers will be based on your ability to effectively summarize and critically evaluate your selected readings and/or videos. Grades will also be based on your depth of engagement with the course material and writing quality (organization, spelling, grammar, etc.). Please proofread your papers before turning them in! Late papers will lose points. In-­‐Class Exams – The exams will cover the assigned readings, lecture material, and in-­‐class videos. The exams will not be cumulative. The exams will take place in class on September 20, October 23, and November 29. How to Succeed in the Course • Complete the assigned readings before each class so you are able to follow lectures and participate in class discussions. • Take notes on the assigned readings while you read. Pay attention to the main arguments, research methods, key concepts, findings, and conclusions. Your reading notes will be very helpful when you study for the exams. 3 • Attend all classes. Lectures will cover ideas/terms not included in the assigned readings. • Ask questions in class about the readings, videos, and lecture material. If I don't have the answer, I will try to bring an answer to our next class meeting. Or perhaps a fellow student will know the answer. • Take notes in class. Your class notes will help you prepare for the exams. If you miss a class, try to get the notes from another student. I will not provide lecture notes or PowerPoint slides to students who miss class. • Watch the in-­‐class videos and take notes. Videos are fair game for the exams. • Meet with the instructor during office hours (or at another mutually convenient time) if you have questions about the course material or requirements. Disability Statement Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit or call the Access Center (Washington Building 217, 509-­‐335-­‐3417) to schedule an appointment with an Access Advisor. All accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center. Academic Integrity Statement Academic integrity will be strongly enforced in this course. Any student caught cheating on any assignment or exam will be given an F for the course and will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. For official definitions of cheating and procedures for academic integrity violations, please see http://www.conduct.wsu.edu. WSU Safety Statement Washington State University is committed to maintaining a safe environment for its faculty, staff, and students. Safety is the responsibility of every member of the campus community and individuals should know the appropriate actions to take when an emergency arises. In support of our commitment to the safety of the campus community, the University has developed a Campus Safety Plan (http://safetyplan.wsu.edu). It is highly recommended that you visit this web site as well as the University emergency management web site (http://oem.wsu.edu/emergencies) to become familiar with the information provided.
4 COURSE SCHEDULE DATE TOPIC REQUIRED READINGS / IN-­‐CLASS VIDEOS ASSIGNMENTS / EXAMS 8/21 Introduction [no assigned readings] 8/23 What is the Sociology of Agriculture and Food Systems? 1. Frederick Buttel and Leann Tigges. 2008. "Rural Sociology." In G. Goreham, ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 860-­‐
863). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. 2. Michael Carolan. 2012. "Introduction." In The Sociology of Food and Agriculture (pp. 1-­‐12). London: Routledge. 3. Don Albrecht. 2008. "Agriculture." In G. Goreham, ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 49-­‐53). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. PART 1 -­‐ SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MAJOR TRENDS IN U.S. AGRICULTURE 8/28 Diffusion and Adoption of Agricultural Innovations 1. Subcommittee for the Study of Diffusion of Farm Practices, North Central Rural Sociology Committee. 1981 [1955]. "How Farm People Accept New Ideas." North Central Regional Publication No. 1 of the Agricultural Extension Services. 2. Subcommittee for the Study of Diffusion of Farm Practices, North Central Rural Sociology Committee. 1961. "Adopters of New Farm Ideas: Characteristics and Communications Behavior." North Central Regional Publication No. 13 of the Agricultural Extension Services. 8/30 Using the Census of Agriculture to Track Agricultural Change DUE IN CLASS: Reflection Paper #1 on “How Farm People Accept New Ideas” and/or “Adopters of New Farm Ideas” 1. 2007 Census of Agriculture Fact Sheets. 2010. "Farm Numbers," "New Farms, New Farm Operators," "Small Farms," "Demographics," "Farmers by Age," and "Women Farmers." http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/ Online_Highlights/Fact_Sheets/ 2. Wayne Rasmussen. 2008. "Structure of Agriculture." In G. Goreham, ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 60-­‐62). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. 9/4 and 9/6 The Industrialization 1. William Heffernan. 2008. "Agri/Food System." In G. Goreham, of U.S. Agriculture ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 66-­‐70). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. 2. William Heffernan. 2000. "Concentration of Ownership and Control in Agriculture." In F. Magdoff et al., eds., Hungry for Profit (pp. 61-­‐75). NY: Monthly Review Press. 3. Mary Hendrickson and William Heffernan. 2007. "Concentration of Agricultural Markets." http://www.foodcircles.missouri.edu/ 07contable.pdf 4. Thomas Lyson. 2004. "Going Global: The Industrialization and Consolidation of Agriculture and Food Production in the United States." In Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community (pp. 30-­‐47). Tufts University Press. 5 DATE TOPIC REQUIRED READINGS / IN-­‐CLASS VIDEOS ASSIGNMENTS / EXAMS 9/11 1. Thomas Hoban. 2008. "Biotechnology." In G. Goreham, ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 118-­‐122). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. DUE IN CLASS: Census of Agriculture Assignment Case of Agricultural Biotechnology 2. Thomas Hoban. 1989. Pages 45-­‐51 from "Sociology and Biotechnology: Challenges and Opportunities." Southern Rural Sociology. 6(1). 3. Philip Howard. 2003. "Killer Tomatoes versus Golden Rice: The Social Context of Genetic Engineering." The Cultivar (Newsletter of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, UC-­‐Santa Cruz). 21(1): 5-­‐7. 9/13 Case of U.S. Corn Production King Corn (2007) [In-­‐class video; 90 m inutes] [No assigned readings] 9/18 Discussion / Review [No assigned readings] 9/20 EXAM #1 [No assigned readings] EXAM #1 PART 2 – ARE WE EXPERIENCING AN AGRICULTURAL PARADIGM SHIFT? 9/25 Conventional vs. Alternative Agricultural Paradigms 1. Curtis Beus and Riley Dunlap. 1990. "Conventional versus Alternative Agriculture: The Paradigmatic Roots of the Debate." Rural Sociology. 55(4): 590-­‐616. 9/27 Organics at the Crossroads 1. William Lockeretz. 2007. "What Explains the Rise of Organic Farming?" in W. Lockeretz, ed., Organic Farming: An International History (pp. 1-­‐8). CAB International. 2. Michael Sligh and Thomas Cierpka. 2007. "Organic Values" in W. Lockeretz, ed., Organic Farming: An International History (pp. 30-­‐39). CAB International. 3. Julie Guthman. 2010. "Conventionalization." In L.A. Duram, ed., Encyclopedia of Organic, Sustainable, and Local Food (pp. 100-­‐101). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press. 4. Philip Howard. 2009. "Organic Industry Structure." Media-­‐N: Journal of the New Media Caucus. 5(3). 10/2 A Sustainable Agriculture Revolution? 1. John Ikerd. 2008. "Do We Really Need to Define Sustainable Agriculture?" In Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture (pp. 95-­‐102). Univ. of Nebraska Press. 2. Patricia Allen. 2008. "Sustainable Agriculture Movement." In G. Goreham, ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 937-­‐
941). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. 3. John Reganold et al. 2011. "Transforming U.S. Agriculture." Science. 332: 670-­‐671. 4. James Murray. 2010. "Walmart Sows Seeds for Sustainable Farming Revolution." BusinessGreen. October 15. 6 DATE TOPIC REQUIRED READINGS / IN-­‐CLASS VIDEOS ASSIGNMENTS / EXAMS 10/4 1. John Ikerd. 2000. "The New American Farmer and Communities." Presented at the Practical Farmers of Iowa Winter Workshop, Ames, IA, January 14-­‐15. "New American Farmers" and Washington Apple Production 10/9 The Local Food and Movement 10/11 Broken Limbs: Apples, Agriculture, and the New American Farmer (2004) [In-­‐class video; 57 m inutes]
1. Gary Paul Green and Anna Haines. 2012. "Local Food Systems DUE IN CLASS (10/9): and Community." In Asset Building and Community Reflection Paper #2 on “The rd
Development, 3 Edition (pp. 272-­‐278). Thousand Oaks: Sage. New American Farmer and Communities” (Ikerd 2000) 2. C. Clare Hinrichs. 2008. "Local Food Systems." In G. Goreham, and/or Broken Limbs ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 591-­‐595). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. 3. "Local Food Movement: The Lure of the 100-­‐Mile Diet." 2006. Time. June 11. 4. Drake Bennett. 2007. "The Locavore’s Dilemma." Boston Globe. July 22. 5. Stacy Mitchell. 2009. "The Corporate Co-­‐Opt of Local." New Rules Project. July 9. http://www.newrules/org/retail/article/ corporate-­‐coopt-­‐local 10/16 The Local Food Movement in Oregon (and Elsewhere) Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root (2009) [In-­‐class video; 67 minutes] [no assigned readings] 10/18 Discussion / Review [no assigned readings] 10/23 EXAM #2 [no assigned readings] EXAM #2 PART 3 – EXPLORING THE COMMUNITY IMPACTS OF AGRIFOOD PRACTICES 10/25 Defining Community, Community Capitals, and Social Capital 1. Cornelia Butler Flora and Jan Flora. 2008. "Defining rd
Community." In Rural Communities: Legacy and Change, 3 Edition (pp. 12-­‐19). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 10/30 Does Increasing Farm Scale Negatively Affect Rural Communities? 1. Walter Goldschmidt. 1978 [1947]. "Introduction." In As You Sow: Three Studies in the Social Consequences of Agribusiness (pp. 279-­‐285). Montclair, NJ: Allanheld, Osmun, and Co. 2. Cornelia Butler Flora. 2008. "Community." In G. Goreham, ed., Encyclopedia of Rural America (pp. 149-­‐154). Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. 2. Michael Carolan. 2012. "Goldschmidt Thesis: Community Effects of Industrial Farming." In The Sociology of Food and Agriculture (pp. 94-­‐107). London: Routledge. 3. "Small Towns in Iowa Thrive Near Large Farms." 2010. National Hog Farmer. July 2. http://www.nationalhogfarmer.com 7 DATE TOPIC REQUIRED READINGS / IN-­‐CLASS VIDEOS ASSIGNMENTS / EXAMS 11/1 How Does Meat Processing/Packing Affect Rural Communities? 1. William Kandel. 2006. "Meat-­‐Processing Firms Attract Hispanic Workers to Rural America." Amber Waves. 4(3). Economic Research Service, USDA. 11/6 Do Local Food Systems Contribute to Development of Social Capital? 1. Michelle Glowacki-­‐Dudka, Jennifer Murray, and Karen Isaacs. 2012. "Examining Social Capital within a Local Food System." Community Development Journal. DUE IN CLASS: Reflection Paper #3 on one of the following: (a) Goldschmidt (1978) and Carolan (2012), (b) Broadway and Stull (2008) OR (c) Glowacki-­‐
Dudka et al. (2012) 11/8 Does Community Supported Agriculture Build Community? 1. Jeff Sharp, Eric Imerman, and Greg Peters. 2002. "Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): Building Community Among Farmers and Non-­‐Farmers." Journal of Extension. 40(3). 2. Michael Broadway and Donald Stull. 2008. "'I'll Do Whatever You Want, but it Hurts': Worker Safety and Community Health in Modern Meatpacking." Labor: Studies in Working Class History of the Americas. 5(2): 27-­‐37. 2. Laura DeLind. 1999. "Close Encounters with a CSA: The Reflections of a Bruised and Somewhat Wiser Anthropologist." Agriculture and Human Values. 16(1): 3-­‐9. The Happy Box (2006) [In-­‐class video; 13 m inutes] 11/13 Does Supermarket Location Create Food-­‐
Disadvantaged Communities? 1. Troy Blanchard and Todd Matthews. 2007. "Retail Concentration, Food Deserts, and Food-­‐Disadvantaged Communities in Rural America." In C.C. Hinrichs and T.A. Lyson, eds., Remaking the North American Food System (pp. 201-­‐215). University of Nebraska Press. 11/15 Food Deserts and Urban Farming (Case of Detroit) Urban Roots (2011) [In-­‐class video; 93 minutes] [no assigned readings] 11/27 Discussion / Review [no assigned readings] 11/29 EXAM #3 [no assigned readings] EXAM #3 12/4 No Class [no assigned readings] 12/6 No Class [no assigned readings] DUE BY 4 PM IN 223 JOHNSON HALL: Reflection Paper #4 on one of the following: (a) Sharp et al. (2002), (b) DeLind (1999), (c) Blanchard and Matthews (2007), OR (d) Urban Roots 8