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In North America Country is the subjective state of perceiving the rural experience as focal and inseparable to ones identity, regardless of location, often expressed in the demarginalization of ideas, values or lifestyles held as being representative of such a character.
Active Relationship edit
Contrast between rural and urban realities not only not produce tension politically and economically, but also affects populations in terms of social identification.[1] Country conceptualization shifts the focus away from the prevailing forces in society (usually centered in larger, metropolitan regions) and towards those on the periphery of society (remote areas and small towns). Consequently, this transition causes rural populations to feel less ignored, better connected with rural diaspora and significantly more empowered. By extension this transition highlights that rural culture is pervasive and does not necessarily depend on residing in a rural area. As a result country conceptualization often assists in reversing the consequences of frequent marginalization.
Cognitive Definitions edit
A concise understanding of Country as an overarching concept is difficult due to the tendency by observers to equate it with one or more of its associated elements and by denoting with classification that limits in such terms (IE "southern, working-class culture" or "rural, underprivileged culture"). However it is perhaps best epitomized not in objective elements, as place, class or environment, but rather in its subjective symbolism and by the perception that individuals can continue to retain a sense of ruralness even in urbanized areas. As there is no definitive, scholarly consensus on precisely what constitutes as Country, much of its discourse can be attributed to the artistic community who describe it in a rather romanticized way. In her master thesis, Manifestations of Collective Identity in Country Music - Cultural, Regional, National, Stephanie Schäfer denotes that country music is important tool for reinforcing this collective identity. [2] Despite Schäfer's analysis of country music as losing much of its "ground" in recent years through commercialization, even modern songs such as How Country Feels (Randy Houser), A Little More Country Than That (Easton Corbin), I'm Country (Craig Morgan), She's Country (Jason Aldean), etc. continue to, directly or indirectly, address the topic of Country conceptualization. For example, Luke Bryan in What Country Is illustrates Country by contrasting it with what it is not. He elaborates that:
"It [Country] ain't a jacked up truck that's never seen a pasture,
It's cars pulling over for a no cap tractor,
It's homemade peach ice cream on sun-burnt lips,
No, it can't be bought it's somethin' you're born with,
That's what country is."
This emphasis of non-material culture over material resonates with the rural experience as being represented through material elements rather than solely consisting of them. Country frequently transcends a close relationship with the Culture of the Southern United States as a source of unity and empowerment of local, marginalized peoples historically removed from the dominant culture. The preference to identify as country over tradition means of classification is reflected of self-determination theory. As human beings have an inherent drive to better their association with others they consistently try to do so more effectively. Country identification is one way in which an individual strives for this realization by identifying in ways that are more advantageous to rural populations and not necessarily in ways dictated by mainstream society.
References edit
- ^ Ching, Barbara, and Gerald W. Creed. (1997), Knowing Your Place: Rural Identity and Cultural Hierarchy, New York: Routledge
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Schäfer, Stephanie (2011). Manifestations of Collective Identity in Country Music - Cultural, Regional, National (MA thesis). Diplomica Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978-3-8428-2301-3.
External links edit
Urban population (% of total) World bank http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS
Canada 19% United States 19% Mexico 21% Greenland 14% Belize 56% Costa Rica 25% El Salvador 34% Guatemala 49% Honduras 46% Nicaragua 42% Panama 34%
Elizabeth A. Sheehan's "Class, Gender, and the Rural in James Joyces "the Dead"
Wiliam J. Maxwell's "Is it True What They Say About Dixie?: Richard Wright, Zoa Neae Hurston, Rural/Urban Exchange in Modern African-American Literature" http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPSR%2FPSR106_03%2FS0003055412000305a.pdf&code=255997af4acbd51dae713db408d36660