Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America

Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America

Kefalas, Maria J.
Carr, Patrick J.

Paperback

General SociologyPoverty & Social Work

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 0807006149
ISBN13: 9780807006146
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: Jul 27 2010
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.75
Height: 0.68 Width: 5.56 Depth: 8.52
Language: English
Two sociologists reveal how small towns in Middle America are exporting their most precious resource--young people--and share what can be done to save these dwindling communities

In 2001, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, sociologists Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas moved to Iowa to understand the rural brain drain and the exodus of young people from America's countryside. They met and followed working-class stayers; ambitious and college-bound achievers; seekers, who head off to war to see what the world beyond offers; and returners, who eventually circle back to their hometowns. What surprised them most was that adults in the community were playing a pivotal part in the town's decline by pushing the best and brightest young people to leave.

In a timely, new afterword, Carr and Kefalas address the question so what can be done to save our communities? They profile the efforts of dedicated community leaders actively resisting the hollowing out of Middle America. These individuals have creatively engaged small town youth--stayers and returners, seekers and achievers--and have implemented a variety of programs to combat the rural brain drain. These stories of civic engagement will certainly inspire and encourage readers struggling to defend their communities.

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