Date: Sunday, August 9

Time: 12:30 PM - 2:10 PM

THEMATIC

Session 083: Rural Spaces and Services II
Room: Broadway III

Sponsors: Community, Research, and Practice
Sociology, Social Work, and Social Welfare
Sport, Leisure, and the Body

Organizers: Linda Lobao, The Ohio State University
Michael O. Johnston, William Penn University

Presider: Michael O. Johnston, William Penn University

Description: 

This thematic session examines the challenges and opportunities shaping rural communities. Rural areas face persistent inequalities, limited resources, and structural barriers across health, education, housing, and social services. At the same time, they foster resilience, care, and solidarity that warrant sociological attention. Presentations explore structural constraints and opportunities within rural environments, analyze how policies and politics shape service delivery, and consider how residents navigate and resist systems of support. Drawing on sociology, social work, and social welfare, the session highlights rural life as essential for understanding broader issues of justice, equity, and social well-being, emphasizing both constraint and creativity in these communities.

Papers:

“A New Rurality: Rethinking Health Systems, Environment, and Everyday Life in North Louisiana,” Carlos N. Chapman II and Junior R. Hopwood, Grambling State University

“Digital Market Access, Unequal Services: How Platform Rules Shape Farmers’ Net Returns and Risk,” Qingze Zhu, University of Columbia

“Masculinity, Structural Precarity, and the Erosion of Rural Support Systems: Dairy Farm Consolidation and Mental Health in Rural New York,” Conor Hammersley, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health; Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety

“Variations in the Local Welfare State: Social and Public Service Paths across U.S. Rural and Urban Communities,” Paige Kelly, The Pennsylvania State University and Linda Lobao, The Ohio State University

“Impact of Rural Sports Program on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-being in India,” Samiksha Nayak, Panchakanya Social Welfare Foundation

“Beyond the Field: A Sociological Analysis of Sports in Rural India,” Sanjay Tiwari, DAV PG College Lucknow

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