The Rural Sociology Group of Wageningen University will celebrate its 75th Anniversary on the 13th of May 2022. Join our event entitled “Rural Sociology: past, present and future” and reflect upon the past and present of rural sociology and discuss its future challenges.
Jolien Klok, onderzoeker bij de vakgroep Rurale Sociologie, Wageningen Universiteit
Het publieke debat rondom ‘de kloof tussen stad en platteland’ lijkt even bedaard, terwijl we – de één rijkhalzender dan de ander – wachten tot het nieuwe kabinet zijn plannen uitwerkt en daarin kleur zal geven aan het Nederlandse platteland. Hoewel er vanuit de wetenschap geluiden klinken dat het al teveel herhalen van een veronderstelde ‘kloof’ haar reproductie alleen maar zal doen toenemen (Huijsmans & Miltenburg, 2023; Van den Berg, 2023), als een self-fulfillingprophecy, is het onmiskenbaar dat sociale ongelijkheid zich ruimtelijk manifesteert en met name op het platteland gevoeld wordt (Huijsmans, 2023; Van Vulpen, 2023).
By Amrutha Jose Pampackal – Forests have garnered a lot of attention in international policy discussions in recent years because of their role in addressing the rising challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. Less discussed is the importance of forests for the sustainability of many local food systems. Across the globe, billions of people live in proximity to forests and are directly or indirectly dependent on them for their food security. While some view traditional forest dwellers as protectors, others view local people’s dependence on forests as a threat to forests’ health. As part of my PhD research, I study how the nutritional security of forest-proximate communities can be strengthened without increasing the socioeconomic and ecological pressures on forests.
Discover the heartbeat of our workplace in the video series “Rural Sociology: Passionate@Work”. Join us as team members share the driving forces that make working at the Rural Sociology Group a fulfilling experience. From shared values to exciting projects, get an inside look at what fuels our enthusiasm and commitment.
In our fifth episode, we showcase Thirza Andriessen, who shares her enthusiasm for the Rural Sociology Group, highlighting the inspiring colleagues and the diverse approaches the group employs in addressing issues.
The course is co-taught by Rural Sociology (Mark Vicol and Oona Morrow), Cultural Geography (Chizu Sato) and Knowledge, Technology and Innovation (Katherine Legun) staff. The focus of the course is a deep dive into radical theories that conceptualize post- and anti-capitalist transitions beyond a technocratic understanding of sustainability.
This course examines radical and critical theories of change that explicitly challenge the dominant capitalist global food system. In the course we seek to problematize and re-theorize often taken for granted categories that the status quo of our food system is built around – sustainability; technology; production; economy; growth; and capitalism itself. Food and food systems are deeply political, shaped by historical structures. Yet, food systems are also shaped by the everyday practices of human and non-human actors. The course therefore does not adopt an a-priori ontology of food system change, but rather explores radical theory across the structure-agency divide.Engaging with key readings and texts, we examine theoretical approaches including Marxist political economy, diverse economies, science and technology studies, more-than-human approaches and feminist political ecology. Each week, we discuss a theoretical approach in relation to four cross-cutting themes of food system change:property; labour; ecology; and technology. In the course we also critically examine the role of the neoliberal university in realizing just food futures. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to discover and develop their own theoretical framework for radical change. In the final week of the course, students are tasked with applying theory to creatively imagine their own post anti-capitalist food future.
Be sure to check out this video featuring Mark Vicol, where he provides additional insights into the course:
Welcome to the blog of the Rural Sociology Group at Wageningen University. Here, we share insights about people, projects, and publications within our group. Our focus lies in the exploration of food provisioning dynamics, agrarian transformations, as well as rural and regional development from a comparative perspective.
Rural Sociology Wageningen University 