Rural Sociology Author

[Anjali Reyome]

TheNatural Resources Research Interest Group (NRRIG) of the Rural Sociological Society is soliciting submissions for a graduate student paper award in the area of environmental or natural resources sociology. The paper should be related to the broad interests of the NRRIG. Current graduate students and recent graduates (who received their degrees no earlier than May of the year of award) may apply.

Coauthored papers are acceptable, including those co-authored with faculty. If co-authored, the applicant (a) must be the lead author of the manuscript, and (b) provide a statement detailing the relative contributions of each co-author.

To be considered for this award, please send an electronic copy of the full paper with contact information to the NRRIG chair (Cat Edgeley at [email protected]) by May 4 of the year of application. If co-authored, please provide a statement detailing the relative contributions of each co-author.

The paper submission should not exceed 35 double-spaced pages (including all tables, graphs, and references) in a standard font (12 point). The winner will be selected by a committee of NRRIG members and notified by June 1 of the year of application.

The William R. Freudenburg Award of Merit is presented to recognize exceptional contributions to the sociology of natural resources and the environment. The award is given to recognize an outstanding legacy / collective body of work that has demonstrably impacted natural resources and environmental sociology.

Recipients will have the following qualifications: outstanding research and scholarship as evidenced not solely by numbers of publications, but their impact: simply put, we are looking for recipients who have substantively affected the trajectory of thinking within natural resources and environmental sociology. Such impact may also be evidenced via application of work beyond the academy, such as work with a natural resources agency, organization, or other partnerships. Other contributions to the NRRIG or sociology of natural resources and environment, such as an outstanding legacy of outreach, graduate student mentorship, and/or instruction are also envisioned as important criteria for consideration. Nominees are not required to be present or past members of the NRRIG.

The RSS Awards and Endowment Committee is now seeking nominations for awards and grant submissions. Details on submission or nomination requirements for each award and grant are below. The period for submission and nominations is November 1, 2023 to February 15, 2024.

When nominating someone for any award, nominators should consider whether the candidate meets the standards outline by the RSS Code of Ethics. RSS Award winners are expected to meet these standards: -ethics.

The purpose of the Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award is to recognize a person, organization, or collective who has made an outstanding contribution to the enhancement of rural life, rural people, or rural policy. This award is intended to recognize excellence in non-academic settings, such as a non- governmental organization, government agency, or private firm. Nominees should be individuals, organizations, or collectives whose activities exemplify the goals of the RSS. Nominees may or may not be RSS members. The award recipient will receive a lifetime RSS membership, two-nights lodging, travel reimbursement, and one banquet ticket to the annual conference.

The purpose of the Distinguished Rural Sociologist is to honor one or more RSS members who have made superior career contributions to the field of rural sociology through research, teaching, extension, public service, and/or public policy. Awards are based on overall professional accomplishments in rural sociology.

The purpose of the Excellence in Research Award is to recognize an RSS member who has made outstanding contributions to rural-oriented research and/or theory. Note: The contribution of the nominee to the substantive area of rural-oriented research and/or theory should be emphasized.

The purpose of the Excellence in Instruction Award is to recognize outstanding rural-oriented teaching by a RSS member at the graduate and/or undergraduate level. Note: Innovation in teaching and learning should be emphasized. Innovation may relate to a particular course, thematic area, population of students or pedagogical approach or technique. Evidence of impact should be provided.

The purpose of the Excellence in Extension and Public Outreach Award is to honor an RSS member, working at a university or college, who has made significant contributions to extension and public outreach. This award is intended to recognize public service excellence in academic settings. Excellence centers on having made a significant impact on rural residents, rural life, and/or rural policy. A specific program or area of outreach or extension should be highlighted.

The purpose of a Certificate of Appreciation is to recognize and honor an RSS member (or members) who has provided outstanding service and selfless effort beyond the call of duty in a singular area of effort on behalf of the Society. The specific effort highlighted should not be associated with career accomplishments or service as an officer or committee chair in the Society.

The purpose of the Olaf Larson Graduate Student Paper Award is to enhance the involvement of graduate students in the RSS annual meeting and to support their professional development. To be eligible, papers must be authored by graduate students who are members of the Society. In multiple-authored papers, all authors must be graduate students, although only the first author must be a member of the RSS. Papers should be of normal journal article length and format (12 pt font, double-spaced, 20-30 pages inclusive). Masters theses and dissertations will not be considered. This award includes a $300 prize and a one-year membership in RSS.

The purpose of the Fred Buttel Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Award is to recognize a member of RSS for a specific recent scholarly work in the form of a book or journal article (alternating years for each format) that demonstrates particular excellence in rural sociology in the same spirit as that exemplified by the late Fred Buttel. For this year, the committee seeks nominations for outstanding scholarly articles that advance of the field of rural sociological knowledge. The article must have been published in 2022 or 2023.

Graduate student members of the Rural Sociological Society are eligible to apply for Ph.D. dissertation research awards. Dissertation awards can be made for up to $5,000. Proposals approved for funding may receive budget allocations below the requested amounts, based on the availability of funds and recommendations of the Endowment Awards Subcommittee. Proposals are invited to conduct research on any topic encompassed by the field of rural sociology. The awards are designed to stimulate research that will help develop the careers of future rural sociologists and support the broader mission of the Rural Sociological Society.

Members of the Rural Sociological Society who received their Ph.D. in the last five years preceding the award date are eligible to apply for RSS Early Career Research awards. The Early Career Research awards can be made for up to $5,000. Because the size of these awards is modest, proposals will generally involve small-scale projects that will enhance opportunities for scholars to pursue expanded research efforts in the future. Proposals are invited to conduct research on any topic encompassed by the field of rural sociology. The awards are designed to stimulate research that will help develop the careers of future rural sociologists and support the broader mission of the Rural Sociological Society.

2. The proposal, including the budget and budget justification, is limited to no more than 5 single-spaced pages of the research to be undertaken using a 12-point font and 1-inch margins. The applicant should include an itemized budget and a brief budget narrative. References are not included in the 5-page limit. The proposal should include:

A brief historical view of rural sociology as a discipline reveals an intense introspection--a preoccupation--with the role, identity, image, effectiveness, and contribution of rural sociologists and their research in the land grant setting. As one outside the discipline, the author examines the history of rural sociology and the current and/or perceived role of rural sociologists in Agricultural Experiment Station research. Finally, some perceptions are offered as to possible ways in which the discipline might improve overall effectiveness within the land grant community.

Rural Sociology and the Environment clearly and carefully illustrates the evolution of natural resource sociology and social science as a distinct field of study. Well before "social-ecological systems" became a popular concept in academic literature broadly, Donald R. Field and William R. Burch, Jr. co-authored this seminal text on what they call "social ecology." In this examination, these authors explore the evolving concepts of the environment in Rural Sociology during the 20th century from "dominion over nature" to "expanding the domain of nature" to "nature as a partner," which reflects a broader recognition of human dependence on environmental systems. One important contribution of this text is the revelation that the contemporary recognition of environmental service values for people emerges in part from a rigorous tradition of scholarship in Rural Sociology.

Don R. Field has dedicated his scholarship to promoting the relevance and importance of social science data to natural resource management practices. Dr. Field graduated with a PhD in rural sociology from Penn State University in 1968 and he is often credited as one of the pioneers of natural resource social science research. Field is one of the cofounders of the Social Ecological Press, which, similar to his own scholarship, is dedicated to bridging the gap between recreation resource management, rural sociology, social ecology, and natural resource sociology.

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