Call for Blog Posts: Winter 2025

Just Rural Futures: Edited by Grete Gansauer, Aida Guhlincozzi, Lavanya Gupta, and Thabo Sebobi

We are thrilled to bring our blog, Just Rural Futures, back!

In an era of rapid urbanization and digital transformation, rural and peripheral regions often fade into the background of academic discourse and public consciousness. However, these areas remain crucial nexuses of socio-ecological complexity, cultural diversity, and geopolitical significance. Rural geography has traditionally focused on demographic shifts, economic challenges, and cultural transformations in the Global North's countryside. Yet, this narrow lens fails to capture the multifaceted realities of rural life worldwide, particularly in the Global South and among marginalized communities.

Just Rural Futures seeks to reinvigorate interest in rural studies worldwide by showcasing rural spaces' vibrant, diverse, and often overlooked narratives. We aim to challenge prevailing assumptions and broaden the scope of rural geography in an increasingly interconnected world.

---

Our call for submissions invites explorations into:

• Digital Rurality: How social media and technology reshape rural social dynamics and economies

• Rural conflict zones: The impact of war and geopolitical tensions on rural communities and landscapes

• Borderland rurality: Life, challenges, and Opportunities in rural border regions and Peripheries

• Indigenous and minority rural experiences: Voices from Black, brown, and Indigenous rural communities

• Climate justice in Rural Contexts: How rural Areas navigate environmental challenges and Lead in Sustainability

• Rural queer geographies: LGBTQ+ experiences and cultural expressions in non-urban settings

• Disability and rurality: Accessibility, community support, and lived experiences in rural spaces

• Youth-led Rural Transformations: How Young People are reshaping rural futures

• Rural-Urban Digital Divides: The Promises and Pitfalls of Technology in Bridging Urban-Rural Gaps.

• Postcolonial rural landscapes: Unpacking the legacies of colonialism in remote and rural places

• Rural-Urban interfaces: Exploring the blurred lines between urban and rural in the 21st century.

• Feminist rural geographies: Gender dynamics, movements, and power structures in rural settings

The themes mentioned above are indicative but not exhaustive. We particularly encourage submissions that challenge conventional notions of rurality by incorporating diverse perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches. We aim to stimulate fresh discussions on rural life and broaden our understanding of rurality in the 21st century. This initiative seeks to reignite interest in rural geography and underscore its critical importance in addressing complex global challenges.

---

Please send Submissions to rural.geography.aag@gmail.com with the Subject line “RGSG Winter Blog Submission 2025” by (30th November 2024) 15 December 2025 (Extended deadline). 

For author guidelines, world limits, and submission checklist, please click on the link below: Submission Details for the Blog Post 2025

We eagerly await your entries. 

For any information or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us at

(rural.geography.aag@gmail.com) or X(Twitter) @RuralGeo_AAG

About Project and Co-Editors: Just Rural Futures is co-edited by Aída Guhlincozzi (Assistant professor, University of Missouri), Grete Gansauer (Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Pittsburgh), Lavanya Gupta (Ph.D. candidate, Tata Institute Of Social Sciences, India and RGSG Student Representative,) and Thabo Sebobi, MA Student, Binghamton University, New York and RGSG Student Representative)