| Course Description |
In the past half-century, the profound changes in agriculture have not only reshaped rural life in the global north but also
posed significant public health challenges. Throughout this region, agriculture as economy and way of life has shrunken.
Anthropologists, novelists, historians have all been heard from (e.g., Wolf 1982; Berger 1992; Holmes 2013; Joyce 2024)
More recently, the intensifying precarity of rural life in this region has drawn both epidemiological and ethnographic
attention: from surveys of elevated suicide rates (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023); to documentary
accounts of cross-national migrant workers (e.g., Berger & Mohr 1975; DeLeon 2015); to long-haul ethnographic studies
of unmarriageable farmers, heirs to archaic ways of life and work (Bourdieu 2008), whose “suffering . . . is seen as an
embarrassment and treated with sacrificial violence masquerading as care for their wellbeing” (Scheper-Hughes 2016).
Rarer, but essential, are accounts of the durable strengths of rural life (Sapkota, 2021). Using a cross-national comparative
perspective and drawing on ongoing original work in rural Ireland and upstate New York, this quarter-long, 2 credit course
will introduce students to a strong, interdisciplinary foundation in social and ecological theory, as well as the
methodological tools needed to work in this area of rural public health. Addressing rural mental health challenges demands
a multifaceted approach that intersects with various public health disciplines. Our inquiry will draw upon insights from
diverse public health disciplines: ‘social and behavioral sciences’, delving into the social, cultural, and behavioral factors
that influence rural mental health; ‘epidemiology’ to analyze the distribution and determinants of health outcomes in rural
areas; and ‘health policy and management’ to confront the challenges associated with policy development and program
implementation within these communities. Through this interdisciplinary approach we'll uncover factors influencing rural
mental health outcomes and explore the context for higher adverse outcomes relative to population density in rural US
and Europe and review research challenges and best practices in rural mental health intervention.
Recruitment of a new generation of health and social |
