Hidden Voices: Linking Research, Practice and Policy to the Everyday Realities of Rural People

Reflections are offered on the contemporary theory & practice of rural sociology, drawing on the author's Presidential Address to the 2000 meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Assoc meeting & on personal career experiences during research, teaching, & outreach in the everyday lives of rural peoples. Inspired by feminist, poststructural, & postcolonial theories & methodologies, rural sociology has undergone a shift in its traditional approaches to research & practice, challenging boundaries between researcher & researched & old assumptions about "the Other," crosscultural differences, & relations of power. The realities of rural people's lives & the voices that remain "hidden" in rural research & paradigms based on old theories & models are explored, & future directions for a policy & practice based on "authentic engagement" are outlined. 23 References. K. Hyatt Stewart