Reflections on the Development of Cooperative Rural Sociology Research in the South. Rural Sociology Series No. 1, April 1974.

A historical overview of events through which regional research has evolved among rural sociologists in the South is presented in this report. The report is divided into 3 sections. The first section, an introduction, contains 2 articles. The first discusses the general climate of rural sociology activity during the first half of the 20th century. The second is an example of a specific early effort at regional research cooperation. Section 2 focuses specifically on the history of cooperative regional research among southern rural sociologists. A view of the future is presented in section 3, which provides some ideas about the potentials and problems of rural sociology in the South both as a discipline and as an effective research structure capable of providing the knowledge required to effectively cope with the problems of rural peoples and institutions. Appendices for the different sections present additional information. (PS)