From 1919 through 1953, the U.S. Department of Agriculture housed the Division of Farm Population and Rural Life—the first unit within the federal government established specifically for sociological research. Distinguished sociologists Charles Galpin and Carl Taylor provided key leadership for 32 of its 34 years as the Division sought to understand the social structure of rural America and to do public policy-oriented research. It reached the height of its influence during the New Deal and World War II as it helped implement modern liberal policies in America's farming sector, attempting to counteract the harsh effects of modern industrialism on the rural economy. In addition, the Division devoted resources to studying both the history and the contemporary state of rural social life. 
Sociology in Government offers the first detailed historical account and systematic documentation of this remarkable federal office. The Division of Farm Population and Rural Life was an archetypal New Deal governmental body, deeply engaged in research on agricultural planning and action programs for the disadvantaged in rural areas. Its work continued during World War II with farm labor and community organization work. Larson and Zimmerman emphasize the Division's pioneering practices, presenting it as one model for applying the discipline of sociology in the government setting. Published in cooperation with the American Sociological Association, Sociology in Government preserves the history of this pathbreaking research unit whose impact is still felt today.

Sociology in Government: The Galpin-Taylor Years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1919-1953

History

Larson, Olaf F.

Americas

Penn State University Press

From 1919 through 1953, the U.S. Department of Agriculture housed the Division of Farm Population and Rural Life—the first unit within the federal government established specifically for sociological research. Distinguished sociologists Charles Galpin and Carl Taylor provided key leadership for 32 of its 34 years as the Division sought to understand the social structure of rural America and to do public policy-oriented research. It reached the height of its influence during the New Deal and World War II as it helped implement modern liberal policies in America's farming sector, attempting to counteract the harsh effects of modern industrialism on the rural economy. In addition, the Division devoted resources to studying both the history and the contemporary state of rural social life. Sociology in Government offers the first detailed historical account and systematic documentation of this remarkable federal office. The Division of Farm Population and Rural Life was an archetypal New Deal governmental body, deeply engaged in research on agricultural planning and action programs for the disadvantaged in rural areas. Its work continued during World War II with farm labor and community organization work. Larson and Zimmerman emphasize the Division's pioneering practices, presenting it as one model for applying the discipline of sociology in the government setting. Published in cooperation with the American Sociological Association, Sociology in Government preserves the history of this pathbreaking research unit whose impact is still felt today.

Sociology in Government: The Galpin-Taylor Years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1919–1953 (Rural Studies)

Opening Windows onto Hidden Lives: Women, Country Life, and Early Rural Sociological Research (Rural Studies)

Building on their analysis in Sociology in Government (Penn State, 2003), Julie Zimmerman and Olaf Larson again join forces across the generations to explore the unexpected inclusion of rural and farm women in the research conducted by the USDA’s Division of Farm Population and Rural Life. Existing from 1919 to 1953, the Division was the first, and for a time the only, unit of the federal government devoted to sociological research. The authors explore how these early rural sociologists found the conceptual space to include women in their analyses of farm living, rural community social organization, and the agricultural labor force.

Zimmerman, Julie N.

Building on their analysis in Sociology in Government (Penn State, 2003), Julie Zimmerman and Olaf Larson again join forces across the generations to explore the unexpected inclusion of rural and farm women in the research conducted by the USDA’s Division of Farm Population and Rural Life. Existing from 1919 to 1953, the Division was the first, and for a time the only, unit of the federal government devoted to sociological research. The authors explore how these early rural sociologists found the conceptual space to include women in their analyses of farm living, rural community social organization, and the agricultural labor force.

In 1910, when Olaf F. Larson was born to tenant livestock and tobacco farmers in Rock County, Wisconsin, the original barn still stood on the property. It was filled with artifacts of an earlier time-an ox yoke, a grain cradle, a scythe used to cut hay by hand. But Larson came of age in a brave new world of modern inventions-tractors, trucks, combines, airplanes-that would change farming and rural life forever. When Horses Pulled the Plow is Larson's account of that rural life in the early twentieth century. He weaves invaluable historical details-including descriptions of farm equipment, crops, and livestock-with wry tales about his family, neighbors, and the one-room schoolhouse he attended, revealing the texture of everyday life in the rural Midwest almost a century ago. This memoir, written by Larson in his ninth decade, provides a wealth of details recalled from an earlier era and an illuminating read for anyone with their own memories of growing up on a farm.

When Horses Pulled the Plow: Life of a Wisconsin Farm Boy, 1910–1929 (Wisconsin Land and Life)

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

University of Wisconsin Press

Published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rural Sociological Society, this monograph analyzes the nearly 90 years of rural sociological research on agriculture and provides a comprehensive overview of changing research focuses and theoretical approaches. As the authors note at the outset, there are a good number of continuities between early-20th-century rural sociology and what is now called the sociology of agriculture. There are also, they note, very substantial differences between contemporary sociology of agriculture scholarship and that which preceded it. Their aim throughout is to convey both continuities and discontinuities in theory, method, and approach. Intended primarily as a straightforward exposition of major scholarly themes, the volume is designed to be useful to readers from a variety of theoretical persuasions. The authors do, however, point to areas of weakness in theoretical or methodological approach that should be addressed in future research.The volume is organized around the three major eras of rural sociological conceptualizations of agriculture. The authors begin by examining the founding of U.S. rural sociology shortly after the turn of the century until the early 1950s, demonstrating that during this initial era the study of agriculture was largely construed as one of the many elements necessary for understanding the social fabric of rural community life. In the next section, they explore the social psychological/behaviorist tradition, which held sway from the early 1950s through the early 1970s and which conceptualized farmers as actors responding to stimuli such as new technologies and educational opportunities. The three chapters devoted to recent research in the emerging tradition of the new rural sociology address such topics as the political economy of agriculture, the environment of agriculture, and major theoretical trends in the sociology of agriculture. In their concluding chapter, the authors look toward the future of the sociology of agriculture and identify some potential problems as we move into the 1990s.

The Sociology of Agriculture: (Contributions in Sociology)

Politics & Social Sciences

Buttel, Frederick H.

Gillespie Jr., Gilbert W.

Social Sciences

Praeger

Sociology In Government: A Bibliography Of The Work Of The Division Of Farm Population And Rural Life, U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 19191953

"This bibliography is the first major output of the project ""Sociology in the U.S. Department of Agriculture: the Galpin-Taylor years, 1 9 1 9- 1 95 3."" This project is being conducted under a cooperative agreement between the Agriculture and Rural Economy Division, Economic ResearchService, U.S. Depa rtment of Agriculture and the Department of Rural Sociology, New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. We are grateful to both organiza tions for providing funds. Financial support has also been provided by the Cornell University AgriculturalExperiment Station and by a grant from the budget for the Rural Sociological Society's 50th Anniversary Committee. The Farm Foundation awarded funds to support meetings of an Advisory Panel of former key members of the staff of the Division of Farm Popu lation and Rural Life. The American Sociological Association, the Rural Sociological Society, and the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station provided funds to assist in covering publication costs."

Oliver, Yvonne B.

Moe, Edward O.

Routledge

Between 1919 and 1953, the Division of Farm Population and Rural Life in the USDA's Bureau of Agricultural Economics promoted sociological research on rural society and its relationships with the larger US society. In retrospect, these studies offer a historical record of rural America in a period of great change. This volume includes more than 150

This volume includes more than 1500 citations to the research publications and related work of the Division of Farm Population and Rural Life. Substantive areas are indicated by key words adapted from the subject index used in the Rural Sociology 50-Year Index for 1936-85.

Sociology In Government: A Bibliography Of The Work Of The Division Of Farm Population And Rural Life, U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 1919-1953

Westview Press

From 1919 through 1953, the U.S. Department of Agriculture housed the Division of Farm Population and Rural Life - the first unit within the federal government established specifically for sociological research. It reached the height of its influence during the New Deal and World War II as it helped implement modern liberal policies in America's farming sector, attempting to counteract the harsh effects of modern industrialism on the rural economy. In addition, the Division devoted resources to studying both the history and the contemporary state of rural social life. Sociology in Government offers the first detailed historical account and systematic documentation of this remarkable federal office.

Sociology In Government: The Galpin-taylor Years In The U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 1919-1953 (RURAL STUDIES SERIES OF THE RURAL SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Larson, Olaf F.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Larson, Olaf F.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Larson, Olaf F.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Sociology in Government: The Galpin-Taylor Years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1919-1953

Sociology in Government: The Galpin-Taylor Years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1919–1953 (Rural Studies)

Opening Windows onto Hidden Lives: Women, Country Life, and Early Rural Sociological Research (Rural Studies)

Opening Windows onto Hidden Lives: Women, Country Life, and Early Rural Sociological Research (Rural Studies)

When Horses Pulled the Plow: Life of a Wisconsin Farm Boy, 1910–1929 (Wisconsin Land and Life)

The Sociology of Agriculture: (Contributions in Sociology)

Sociology In Government: A Bibliography Of The Work Of The Division Of Farm Population And Rural Life, U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 19191953

Sociology In Government: A Bibliography Of The Work Of The Division Of Farm Population And Rural Life, U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 19191953

Sociology In Government: A Bibliography Of The Work Of The Division Of Farm Population And Rural Life, U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 1919-1953

Sociology In Government: The Galpin-taylor Years In The U.s. Department Of Agriculture, 1919-1953 (RURAL STUDIES SERIES OF THE RURAL SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY)