Discusses an undergraduate class' study of rural Clarion, Pennsylvania's linkages with the global community. Describes data collection methods. Reveals some indicators of the town's interdependence with the rest of the world. Lists questions for students concerning Clarion's global connections. Identifies possible interpretive topics that such…

Within the United States there are minority groups whose beliefs, values, and customs differ from most citizens. Individuals living in Mennonite and Hutterite communities are members of such minority groups. The unique qualities of Mennonite and Hutterite communities present an opportunity for students to see U.S. society from a different vantage.…

During an extensive search for college curricula focused on rural poverty, the Rural Sociological Society's Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty identified only a dozen such courses being taught in the United States today. This guidebook provides professors and instructors with a conveniently organized set of sample syllabi and instructional…

Develops a lesson explaining the farm tenancy system in which displaced farmers work on large landowners' farms. Describes various forms of tenancy: small farmer, cash tenant, share tenant, sharecropper, and migrant worker. Provides lyrics from eight folk songs and lists questions to help students retrieve information about farm tenancy in the…

Outlines a lesson plan in which students role play a 1920s farm family deciding whether to buy an automobile or a tractor. Other students act as automobile and tractor sales groups. Explains how the lesson illuminates relationships between technological advance and social history. Includes handouts identifying benefits of purchasing cars or…