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In the firm belief that rural sociology is currently in a state of malaise, this paper attempts to diagnose the sickness. Some of the main aspects of what is called 'conventional rural sociology' are outlined and their limitations discussed. It is argued strongly that rural sociology must become more theoretically-oriented in the problems it sets itself and that more attention be given to conceptual and theoretical issues. It is hoped that the paper will provide a focus which will stimulate debate around the questions raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The paper argues that animals are central to rural social life and a rural sociology needs to develop theorisations of the rural which incorporate this fact. It looks to environmental sociology, the sociology of the relations between ‘nature’ and ‘society’, for help in this respect, but argues that the debates (particularly the ‘realist’ versus ‘social constructionist’ debate) which have characterised recent sociology of the environment have focussed attention on the problems of conceptualising ‘nature’ at the expense of attempts to reconceptualise ‘society’. It ends by arguing that sociology needs a ‘New Societal Paradigm’ which would include at least ‘domestic’ animals within society, and recognise the social relations of inequality and hierarchy through which their life opportunities are structured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'new rural sociology' arguably represented the most significant watershed in the development of rural sociology during the 1970s and 1980s. I argue, however, that the new rural sociology, especially its dominant traditions of Chayanovian and neo-Leninist Marxism, has now been almost entirely superseded as a theoretical position in agrarian political economy by the international food regimes, commodity chains/systems analysis, regulationist, and actor-network traditions. In addition, Wageningen School research on `farming styles' and the 'cultural-turn' within rural sociology and rural studies have arisen, in part, as challenges to the more structuralist styles of reasoning within agrarian political economy. Parallel trends in the sociology of development are also discussed. The paper concludes with an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of these new late twentieth century traditions in agrarian political economy, particularly in comparison with the new rural sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In reviewing some of the current developments in the economic restructuring literature, the paper examines the conceptual implications of the transition form Fordism for rural sociology. The author suggests the need for a stronger integration of social relations in the assessment of economic change. Two key dimensions for consideration are production-consumption relations and the reconstitution of labour relations. These considerations bring the author to the conclusion that rural sociology should focus on the integration of international and local processes and give more attention to the social contexts in which these processes are moulded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the contribution that 'interpretative' research might make to rural sociology. Most research in rural sociology has had a heavy quantitative bias, and it is suggested that this bias has often made an understanding of the processes of social change more difficult. One way in which 'interpretative' sociology might prove of value is in bringing together the analysis of changes at the local 'community' level, and more widespread structural changes. The analysis of social transactions between peasants and cattle-dealers in the Spanish Pyrenees, undertaken by the author, focuses attention on the process of social change through the use of 'interpretative' rather than positivistic research methods. It is argued that changes at the 'community' level are only one example of the behaviour which rural sociologists might investigate using a more 'interpretative' approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]