Week of November 12

Class in Rural America

Most of this course has dealt with class issues in urban and suburban environments. Class isn't constricted to cities: Small towns and rural American environments experience the myths and realities of the American Dream, as well. We're going to spend this week investigating this phenomenon. We're extremely fortunate to have a guest with us on Wednesday, and our work over the weekend and into Monday will be in preparation for our time with him

For everyone who remembers what it was like to be young -- when the whole world seemed to stretch out before you while you were stuck in your own backyard -- this special FRONTLINE series tells the story of Chris and Cody: two boys growing up in a hard land, determined to beat the odds against them, and struggling with who they are -- and who they can become.

Filmed over three years (1999-2002), "Country Boys" tracks the dramatic stories of Chris and Cody from ages 15 to 18. Sutherland's new film bears witness to the two boys' struggles to overcome the poverty and family dysfunction of their childhoods in a quest for a brighter future. This film also offers unexpected insights into a forgotten corner of rural America that is at once isolated and connected, a landscape dotted with roughshod trailer homes and wired with DSL

Frontline has made the entire film available on line. This is a great boon to us, as the film is very long. I want you to prepare for Monday's Class by watching at least part 1 and part 2. You'll find the link to them under the top picture. If you have time (I hope you do) or interest (I hope you have that too) watch all three parts. We'll be watching part 3 (or sections of it) in class on Monday

The two pictures in the middle lead to the stories of the two young Country Boys. I'd like to have you read them for Monday, preferably after viewing the documentary,.

React to the story in your journal. The map to the left highlights Appalachia in yellow, and marks Floyd County, where the story takes place. Click on it to read some of the viewer's reactions., and compare them to your own.

Robert Wiener is the founder and Director of the California Coalition for Rural Housing Project (CCRH), which has been the leading voice in California for the production and preservation of affordable rural housing since 1981. Under his leadership, CCRH has successfully lobbied for millions of dollars in state housing assistance, benefiting farm workers, first-time homebuyers, the elderly and disabled, and large families living in rural and urbanizing communities. Before forming CCRH, Dr. Wiener worked with community development groups in Alaska, Oregon, and California. He is a member of the American Collegiate Schools of Planning and the National Rural Housing Coalition, and he sits on the board of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. He is the author and co-editor of Housing in Rural America: Building Affordable and Inclusive Communities and has published articles on housing issues in trade magazines and books.

About the Questioning:

After class on Monday (which also means after having viewed Country Boys, I want each of you to prepare one question for our "group interview": with Rob Weiner. As you can see from the above, Dr. Weiner has wide experience in the field of of rural housing and developing inclusive communities. Here, we have an opportunity to ask him to reflect on the relationship of the kinds of things we observed in the documentary and his own experiences in communities in California and elsewhere.

Try to ask your questions in ways which lead to comparisons and are narrow enough to allow a focused answer but not so narrow that the question can be answered "yes" or "no". For instance, you might think about the "American Dream" as seen through the eyes of the Country Boys, and ask something about how those visions of the future compare with those of rural teenagers in California. (Please don't use my example--or if you do, phrase it more specifically than I have here.

I'll pull forth a list of the questions from your journals and prepare them visually on Wednesday before class. However, I'd like to have you stand up and ask your question yourself.

NOTE:

Dr. Weiner will be speaking in the Mary Tefft White Center in the Library on Tuesday, November 13, at 4:30. I'm in class but I'm hoping to get over to see him when the class is finished.

Read, in Growing Up Poor

"Big Boy," by Jesse Hill Ford (1930-1996). pp. 38 - 50

"Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry" by Mildred Taylor (1943 - ) pp. 202-213

We conclude our look at class in Rural America by reading a bit of fiction about the rural South. Some of the issues in Urban Samaritan will return, but in a rural guise. How does one behave in humiliating circumstances? What kind of moral choices appear as one tries to escape life on the bottom? These are subject which would form interesting reflections in your journals.