The objectives of the Association are to: foster the development of rural sociology; further the application of sociological inquiry to the improvement of the quality of rural life; and provide a mechanism whereby rural sociologists can generate dialogue and useful exchange.
The Scientific Committee of the ESRS Congress has put out a call for Working Groups for the next ESRS congress in Riga (July 2025). Deadline for submission is 18 October 2024. Please see more details on the ESRS website: https://ruralsociology.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ESRS-2025-Call-for-Working-Groups-.pdf
This book provides a comprehensive overview of ‘societal deception’ – how and why people are deceived and led to believe fake news. Coherently blending critical political economy and sociology, the author provocatively examines how corporations, political parties, the media, think tanks and assorted ‘influencers’ seek to manipulate public opinion to achieve their goals. This book spans an array of contemporary topics and issues not normally tackled by a single writer – the media, genetic engineering, fast food, environmental pollution, climate change, economic inequality, political manipulations, sports, and religion. While critical in subject matter, and replete with easily accessible and reliable sources, this book is highly readable and entertaining for the general as well as academic audience interested in current global issues.
The book is written by former IRSA President Geoffrey Lawrence and published by Palgrave Macmillan.
By Sally Shortall, IRSA President
I took over as President of IRSA in 2023 and felt privileged to do so. At a time when it feels that nationalism can make the world smaller and intolerant, it is an honour to lead an international network of scholars. Rural sociologists are interested in comparative analysis across the globe with a focus on understanding social processes and structures
and striving for a more equal society.
I had not anticipated some of the logistical challenges when I took up post. I decided to have three to four online meetings per year. There are many time zones to accommodate! I am very grateful to my colleagues who join very early online, or very late at night. Slowly we are making progress after the hiatus caused by Covid-19. I have now met with all the Presidents of the Regional Associations. This required two different
meetings, one very early in the morning for me and one very late at night. I am very grateful for the buy-in of the Presidents. Some people do not realise that IRSA is not an individual membership association, rather it is the regional associations who make up the membership.
I am particularly thankful that the Secretary-Treasurer Ray Jussaume agreed to stay on for my tenure. Institutional memory is critical for an association that tends to significantly change membership every four years.
Now we are working with our colleagues in Porto Alegre, Brazil who are organising the next IRSA Congress in Brazil in July 2026. We will be relying on you to support the Congress! Watch this space – more details and information will follow shortly.
Sally Shortall is interested in farm families, and how their values and decisions shape agricultural practice. She is particularly interested in the role of women in farm families. Her research on gender relations in agriculture has focused on dynamics of power, how it is accepted and almost unquestioned that women rarely inherit land, are not recognised by the industry, and have limited access to capital and training. This persists in a context of general improvements in gender equality. To date her research has focused on Europe, Canada, Australia, Tanzania and Nigeria. She is currently working on women’s role in leading on ecological transitions and leading a Horizon Europe project (2023-2026) on this question. She has published extensively on these questions. Sally is also involved in a Horizon Europe project (2023-2027) looking at farmer health and safety and mental well-being, with a focus on the ethics of interviewing farmers who have had life changing accidents.
Sally Shortall was twice elected President of the European Society for Rural Sociology (2015-17; 2017-19). She was elected First Vice-President of the International Rural Sociology Association (2016-2020).
She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2021, and elected an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry for international service to agriculture.
Sally holds Visiting Professorships in Queen’s University Belfast, and has a 30% appointment in the Technology University of the Southeast of Ireland. She is an Irish citizen.
President, Rural Sociological Society
President, Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología Rural
President of the Australasian Food Network
President of the Asian Rural Sociology Association
President: European Society for Rural Sociology
The Centre for Rural Economy at Newcastle University has an opening for a PhD studentship to Research Farm Tenancies in the North East of England. Click here for more details
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, USA at the Madison Concourse Hotel July 24-28, 2024. The meeting will explore the theme of Reconceptualizing Rurality: Toward a More Diverse and Inclusive Understanding. More information is available on the conference website.
The Asian Rural Sociology Association will hold the 7th international conference on 7th to 9th September 2024, at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. The theme of the conference is Recasting Peasantries for a Sustainable Future in Rural Asia: Multiple Trajectories of Modernization. More information is available on the https://arsa2024.wordpress.com/
Ruth McAreavey is Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on rural social change and inequalities; migration, research ethics and methodologies. She has published extensively on sustainable rural development and on inequalities faced by migrants in the labour market and in other parts of everyday life. Ruth’s research has been funded by government departments and agencies as well as independent charitable trusts.
Ruth is an active member of various international research networks including the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) and the European Sociological Association. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and co-editor-in-chief of Sociologia Ruralis. Ruth is proactive in engaging with third sector organisations and with government departments. She is a Trustee of Plunkett UK.
Sergio Schneider is Full Professor of Sociology of Rural Development and Food Studies at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he teaches and research at the Graduate Program of Sociology (PPGS) and Rural Development (PGDR).
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