Abstract

The University of Iowa is located in what most would call a rural place. When our stateʼs "Fields of Dreams" marketing efforts meet the media spotlight during our quadrennial Presidential caucuses, weʼre pictured in tableaux of friendly-scale cities, smaller towns, and a fading quilt of family farms spread across the natural and leveling influence of Middle America. The gist of these reports rarely varies: things "rural" must be cast in repose against the clangor of national and international controversy. Even the bland, pastoral backdrop of network news footage glosses a significant irony. Per square mile, the introduction of steel plow to prairie has created the most altered and "unnatural" environment of all the 50 states. I mention this to my students in the first weeks of their arrival on campus, to poke at their sense of location and to argue for an open-minded scrutiny of where they are "from" or where many have only recently arrived.

How to Cite:

Jennings, W., (2005) “Book Review: Rural Voices: Place-Conscious Education and the Teaching of Writing”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 20(2), 1–2.

Rights: Copyright