The Rural Race and Ethnicity Research and Interest Group

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Rural Race and Ethnicity RIG is to facilitate the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the dynamics, causes, and consequences of racial and ethnic relations in rural areas.  By supporting the formation of collaborative networks among scholars, and between scholars and rural minority communities, the RIG contributes to the development of strategies and policies to reduce racial and ethnic inequalities.

Papers of interest:

Emancipatory Empiricism: The Rural Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois

by Joseph Jakubek and Spencer D. Wood (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, January 2018)

In this article, the authors discuss W.E.B. Du Bois' contributions to rural sociology, focusing specifically on his discussions of rural communities and the structure of agriculture.  The authors frame his research agenda as an emancipatory empiricism and discuss the ways his rural research is primarily focused on social justice and the social progress of Black communities in rural spaces.  Du Bois' empirical research, funded by the Department of Labor from 1898 to 1905, provides evidence that Du Bois was among the first American Sociologists to conduct empirical agrarian analyses and case studies of rural communities.

Leadership

Co-Chair: Erika Ramirez Mayoral, [email protected]

Co-chair: Morgan Montanez, [email protected]