Alternative countrysides Anthropological approaches to rural Western Europe today /
MacClancy, Jeremy.
A fresh anthropological look at a central but neglected topic: the profound changes in rural life throughout Western Europe today. As locals leave for jobs in cities they are replaced by neo-hippies, lifestyle-seekers, eco-activists, and labour migrants from beyond the EU. With detailed ethnographic examples, contributors analyse new modes of living rurally and emerging forms of social organisation. As incomers’ dreams come up against residents’ realities, they detail the clashes and the cooperations between old and new residents. They make us rethink the rural/urban divide, investigate regionalists’ politicisation of rural life and heritage, and reveal how locals use EU monies to prop up or challenge existing hierarchies. They expose the consequences of and reactions to grand EU-restructuring policies, which at times threaten to turn the countryside into a manicured playground for escapee urbanites. This book will appeal to anyone seriously interested in the realities of rural life.
Previously issued in print: 2015.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
List of figures --List of contributors --1. Alternative countrysides: anthropology and rural West Europe today --2. A ‘private place’? Changing meanings of the countryside in northern Italy --3. Environmental attitudes, community development, and local politics in Ireland --4. Ethnic identity, power, compromise, and territory: ‘locals’ and ‘Moroccans’ in the Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux vineyards --5. The new rural residents: emerging sociabilities in Alava, Basque Country --6. Farms, flats, and villas: senses of country living in a Basque-speaking village --7. The recuperation of Galician pottery: craft professions, cultural policies, and identity --8. Fear and loving in the west of Ireland: the blows of County Clare --Index.
A fresh anthropological look at a central but neglected topic: the profound changes in rural life throughout Western Europe today. As locals leave for jobs in cities they are replaced by neo-hippies, lifestyle-seekers, eco-activists, and labour migrants from beyond the EU. With detailed ethnographic examples, contributors analyse new modes of living rurally and emerging forms of social organisation. As incomers’ dreams come up against residents’ realities, they detail the clashes and the cooperations between old and new residents. They make us rethink the rural/urban divide, investigate regionalists’ politicisation of rural life and heritage, and reveal how locals use EU monies to prop up or challenge existing hierarchies. They expose the consequences of and reactions to grand EU-restructuring policies, which at times threaten to turn the countryside into a manicured playground for escapee urbanites. This book will appeal to anyone seriously interested in the realities of rural life.
Mode of access: internet via World Wide Web.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat or other PDF reader (latest version recommended), Internet Explorer or other browser (latest version recommended).
Description based on print version record.
Sociology, Rural.
Country life
Sociology, Rural
Also available in print form.

Open Access