Rural Sociology in Canada

Bruce Grainger is head of the Public Services Department, Macdonald
Library, McGill University.

The 16 chapters in this book are of uneven quality. Some, such as
Smith’s on women in rural society, show insight, reflect recent
research in the field, and add to our understanding. However,
considering that original contributions were solicited for this book, it
is disappointing to note how few recent sociological studies are cited
in many of these papers.

There a number of weaknesses in this anthology. For example, Schissel,
in his comments on rural courts, fails to distinguish between isolated
areas, which often have a large Native population that is served by
circuit courts, and the bulk of the rural population, which largely
shares the values held by the populations of the larger towns or small
cities where the courts that serve this group are located. In their
respective chapters on farm laborers, Bolaria and Shields focus solely
on the exploitation of laborers, basing their comments on studies that
are, for the most part, more than a decade old. They fail to document in
any detail current conditions or to present information other than that
relating to the worst cases of exploitation. Furthermore, Shields
exaggerates the extent to which farming as a whole has become dependent
on (exploited) hired labor.

The collection includes two chapters that, the editors admit, do not
relate to rural sociology. In their own concluding chapter on the future
of rural Canada, they cite only two references more recent than 1979.
The book’s many weaknesses should limit its appeal specialists on the
subject.