Historian Gabriel Rosenberg challenges romanticism in the history of family farms in the US.
Rosenberg defines the "political mythology" of the historical family farm as an image of a stable nuclear family, conservative gender roles, and a permanent home life.
But his research presents a more complex story, one of near-constant resettlement and flexible social ties—and one tied to environmental degradation, slavery, and other histories of violence in the US:
Our contemporary political mythology built on the family farm is actually founded on a backlash to a much more complicated history ... Rural America — its landscapes and communities both — did not spring from a process of peaceful, orderly, or permanent settlement. Those processes were tumultuous, violent, and chaotic.
In addition to the piece in the Boston Globe, Rosenberg has published a book on the topic, The 4-H Harvest: Sexuality and the State in Rural America.
FULL STORY: Fetishizing family farms
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association