This book provides a detailed and comprehensive introduction to the concepts and methods of the sociology of farming.
The sociology of farming focuses on co-production: the ongoing interaction and mutual transformation of the natural and the social (of ‘human and living nature’) which requires putting the farm labour process centre stage. While there are many books which discuss food and agriculture, this book is different: it delves into the methods and concepts used and presents a comprehensive conceptual framework and the associated methods for research to give students and researchers of agriculture and rural studies a solid set of tools for unravelling the complexities of farming and rural life. Importantly, these tools also empower us to design new ways forward. A wide array of case studies, as wide-ranging as Brazil, Peru, China, the Netherlands, Italy and Guinea Bissau, help readers to grasp the commonalities that underlie strongly diversified and divided rural worlds. The book lists over two hundred basic concepts and includes boxes that discuss the main methods of the sociology of farming.
This textbook is essential reading for students and scholars of food and agriculture, agrarian studies, rural development, food and farming systems, peasant studies and environmental sociology.
1. The specificity of farming 2. The farm labour process 3. Markets and technology: A space for manoeuvre 4. Styles of farming 5. Farm development trajectories and agricultural growth 6. Farming, society and capital 7. Rural development processes 8. Constructing new markets 9. Peasant resistances and struggles 10. Dealing with socio-material practices
Biography
Jan Douwe van der Ploeg is Emeritus Professor at Wageningen University, the Netherlands and an Adjunct Professor in the College of Humanities and Development Studies at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. He is the author of The New Peasantries: Rural Development in Times of Globalization (Routledge, 2018).
'This book fills a longstanding gap in rural studies. Nobody in the sociological tradition could do it better than Jan Douwe. The multiple levels, the distinct shapes and the different dimensions of agriculture are carefully canvassed by someone who knows the subject from personal history and as a research topic. It’s a seminal book that honors the good tradition of great rural sociologists from the past, and must be read by all agrarian, rural and food scholars of the future.'
Sergio Schneider, Full Professor of Sociology of Rural Development and Food Studies, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil
'This book brings together knowledge acquired through a long and productive career of deep/analytical thinking and research delving into the complexities of agriculture, nature, and those engaged in food production. If you want to learn more about the significance of the farm labour process and how radical transformations of food systems are already underway in various parts of the world, read this book!'
Annette Aurélie Desmarais, Canada Research Chair in Human Rights, Social Justice and Food Sovereignty, University of Manitoba
'The Sociology of Farming is an original, grounded, systematic and brilliant textbook that goes far beyond the boundaries set by its title to encompass global social life. It must be read by all students concerned about the future of humanity and our planet.'
Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Professor of Agrarian Studies, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands
"TheSociology of Farmingspells out the importance of a sociological perspective of farming and champions the call for methodological crea-tivity. It isasinspiring as it is critical—an impor-tant read for every rural sociologist, agroecologist, and agrifood systems scholar."
Danielle Schmidt, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
