Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Causes and Consequences of Land Use Changes in Rural North America

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Doctoral student John Michels (University of Illinois at Chicago), with the guidance of Dr. Molly Doane, will undertake research on the processes of class transformation currently being experienced in rural areas of North America and elsewhere. This research will be carried out in the Almaguin Highlands, Ontario, Canada, where working-class spaces are being transformed into upper-class residential and commercial zones. These processes recast the countryside from a place of work to a place of leisure, sometimes generating both tensions and alliances between various groups of residents over proper uses and meanings of rural space. Throughout the course of the project the researcher will carry out both ethnographic and archival research. Archival research will take place in village offices, village and university libraries, and provincial governmental offices. The ethnographic portion includes participant observation and a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Activities include regular attendance at community meetings, open houses, job fairs, festivals, food drives, fundraisers, and other social events. Additional time will be spent with participants as they go about their daily activities at their places of employment and in their homes. Furthermore, a series of 200 semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a sample of 100 informants over the course of the project. By ethnographically tracking these changes from labor-oriented rural production to leisure-oriented rural consumption, this study promises to help theorize the processes involved in the transformation of rural landscapes wherever they are found. Findings from the research will also be useful to planners and policy makers concerned with encouraging the beneficial effects and ameliorating the less beneficial ones for affected residents. Funding this research also contributes to the training of a graduate student.