Rural issues are currently attracting unprecedented levels of interest, with the debates surrounding the future of 'traditional' rural customs and practice becoming a significant political concern. However, the problem of racism in rural areas has been largely overlooked by academics, practitioners and researchers who have sought almost exclusively to develop an understanding of racism in urban contexts. This book aims to address this oversight by examining notions of ethnic identity, 'otherness' and racist victimisation that have tended to be marginalised from traditional rural discourse.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgments -- The Forethought -- 1 How I Became White While Punching de Tar Baby -- 2 We Learned the Wrong Things and Went Underground -- 3 We Use Racial Others ... -- 4 ... And Hope and Stumble -- The Afterthought -- Methodological Appendix -- References -- Index.

“An important contribution to the literature on contemporary American politics. Both methodologically and substantively, it breaks new ground.” —Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare When Scott Walker was elected Governor of Wisconsin, the state became the focus of debate about the appropriate role of government. In a time of rising inequality, Walker not only survived a bitterly contested recall, he was subsequently reelected. But why were the very people who would benefit from strong government services so vehemently against the idea of big government? With The Politics of Resentment, Katherine J. Cramer uncovers an oft-overlooked piece of the puzzle: rural political consciousness and the resentment of the “liberal elite.” Rural voters are distrustful that politicians will respect the distinct values of their communities and allocate a fair share of resources. What can look like disagreements about basic political principles are therefore actually rooted in something even more fundamental: who we are as people and how closely a candidate’s social identity matches our own. Taking a deep dive into Wisconsin’s political climate, Cramer illuminates the contours of rural consciousness, showing how place-based identities profoundly influence how people understand politics. The Politics of Resentment shows that rural resentment—no less than partisanship, race, or class—plays a major role in dividing America against itself.

How a fraying social fabric is fueling the outrage of rural Americans What is fueling rural America’s outrage toward the federal government? Why did rural Americans vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump? And is there a more nuanced explanation for the growing rural-urban divide? Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Robert Wuthnow brings us into America’s small towns, farms, and rural communities to paint a rich portrait of the moral order—the interactions, loyalties, obligations, and identities—underpinning this critical segment of the nation. Wuthnow demonstrates that to truly understand rural Americans’ anger, their culture must be explored more fully, and he shows that rural America’s fury stems less from economic concerns than from the perception that Washington is distant from and yet threatening to the social fabric of small towns. Moving beyond simplistic depictions of America’s heartland, The Left Behind offers a clearer picture of how this important population will influence the nation’s political future.

White Folks explores the experiences and stories of eight white people from a small farming community in northern Wisconsin. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Delores, Frank, William, Erin, Robert, Libby, and Stan, as well as on his own experiences growing up in this same rural community, Lensmire creates a portrait of white people that highlights the profound ambivalence that has characterized white thinking and feeling in relation to people of color for at least the last two hundred years. White people’s relations to people of color and their cultures are characterized not just by fear, rejection, and violence, but also by attraction, envy, and desire. There is nothing smooth about the souls of white folks. This second edition of White Folks features a new foreword—by renowned critical whiteness studies scholar David Roediger—that places the book in historical and political context. It also includes an expanded discussion by Lensmire on doing research on race with white people.

Now in paperback, The Rural Face of White Supremacy presents a detailed study of the daily experiences of ordinary people in rural Hancock County, Georgia. Drawing on his own interviews with over two hundred black and white residents, Mark Schultz argues that the residents acted on the basis of personal rather than institutional relationships. As a result, Hancock County residents experienced more intimate face-to-face interactions, which made possible more black agency than their urban counterparts were allowed. While they were still firmly entrenched within an exploitive white supremacist culture, this relative freedom did create a space for a range of interracial relationships that included mixed housing, midwifery, church services, meals, and even common-law marriages.

Focusing on the countryside, this book explores issues of ethnicity, identity and racialised exclusion in rural Britain. It questions what the countryside 'is', problematises who is seen as belonging to rural spaces, and argues for the recognition of a rural multiculture.