This paper reviews the development of regional analysis in the South in the pre-regional science era. It then examines the influence of that work on the early literature of regional science. An examination of the nature of Southern regional science in the past 25 years is included.

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The Southern Contribution to Regional Science

Farming in Cultural Change.

By “political economy” I mean both the method of thought and the body of knowledge which refer to human economising behaviour. The body of knowledge includes both theory — theorems, laws, empirical generalisations, etc., and “facts” — history, description of institution, statistical data, etc. By “Christian theology” I mean both the method of thought and the body of knowledge which refer to the human religious understanding of Jesus of Nazareth. “Religious” here implies awareness of, or belief in, God. The body of knowledge may include pre‐Christian religion (such as that reported in the Old Testament), and the results of independent inquiry (such as natural theology) in so far as these are interpreted by, or “refracted” through what theologians call the “Christ event”.

Economists on the Relation Between Political Economy and Christian Theology: A Preliminary Survey

A M O N G the most significant recent studies are several that attempt an interpretation of the crisis of contemporary society in terms of the past and present influence of certain economic, political, social, and moral ideas and forces. In one such study, Ropke (60) described our social maladies, explained their causes, and argued that the \"social crisis\" which had developed will eventuate in the destruction of Western civilization if suggested measures do not arrest the present trend. Less positive as to the solution of recognized problems, a series of discussions of significant phases of modern life by Chase and others (12) added up to the proposition that, given understanding, man possesses sufficient creative ability to deal with the grim challenges he faces. Comprehensive quantitative studies of contemporary society such as Recent Social Trends in the United States and similar investigations published during the 1930's were not found for the period under review. The most comprehensive treatments of problems and trends were found in advanced texts (24, 70) that incorporated the findings of recent research. The most comprehensive treatments of selected larger aspects and problems of contemporary society were found in volumes of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The UNESCO Official Bulletin and the State Department's monthly publication, Economic and Social Problems in the United Nations, provided materials and references relating to world problems. For references to studies of specific aspects and problems of contemporary society, one should consult, in addition to the well-known Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature and Education Index, the International Index to Periodicals, Population Index, Public Affairs Information Service, the Cumulative Book Index, 1946-1950 of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the indexes of such journals as the American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, and Social Forces.

Chapter II: The Larger Social Context of Education

This study reports a content analysis of Land Economics from the first issue in 1925 through 1999, in order to show the evolving research priorities of the discipline as evidenced by the changing emphasis of certain topics over time. An assessment of the thought leaders in the field is shown by an analysis of their publications in aggregate and by decade. Another perspective on Land Economics thought leadership is provided by ranking authors in terms of the topics of their articles. We also show patterns of institutional dominance for each decade, by listing the rank order of the schools, based on articles authored by individuals affiliated with those institutions.

Evolving Research Priorities: The Contents of Land Economics

At no time since Abram and Lot agreed to disagree and Lot drove his herds on the "Plain of Jordan" has the farm family ceased to be a matter of keen concern, not only to the economist and the sociologist but to the preacher andmore particularly-to the politician. As reported by Moses in the Book of Genesis this ancient problem had its origin in the fact that "the land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together."2 It was given a modern setting and a sociological twist no later than last Christmas when Dr. Carle Zimmerman of Harvard University told delegates to the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in New York that farm family life is in danger of returning to the "Dark Ages."3 Thus we have the story from Abram to Zimmerman: "The farm family has always been in a bad way-and there isn't much we can do about it." Just how bad may be inferred from a few stray remarks gleaned from Dr. Zimmerman's speech. "Where the land is good," he said, "commercial farms are beginning to dominate the family farm... As the commercial farm becomes more dominant class struggle rises in the country between the workers and the landlords... Along with this class struggle, there is a sharpening of the battle between the city and the country over the price of food."4 Always, of course, there is the inevitable "era of change." And yet, the thoughtful reader can not but wonder in these days of "cold war" and threatening strife whether the world really does move and, in that event, whether conditions are ever quite as bad as they are pictured to be. If so, it is hard to explain why the "strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle," which is reported to have arisen about 4000 years ago, has not blazed forth into something more devastating than is evident in the "class struggle" which Zimmerman envisions between workers and landlords or the "sharpening battle" which he sees taking shape between the city and the country. About the most that can be said with certainty is that changes of a sort have been and are taking place. It seems likely, however, that their influence upon farm families may be equaled, or even exceeded, by the influence of farm families upon them. Just what these changes are, how they have influenced and been influenced by farm families, and whether these influences have been for "better or for worse" are the chief topics to be considered in this paper.

The Southern Farm Family in an Era of Change. Economic Aspects

The subject of this discussion is of interest not only to agriculturalists but to industrialists; not only to farmers but to fertilizer salesmen; not only to tractor drivers and mechanics but to school teachers and merchants. It concerns both the man who is now or may shortly be looking for a job and the man who is now or may shortly be looking for a worker. It has significance not alone in the South where the prospects may be gloomy or bright but in the North, the East, and the West where some of the dregs of the unemployed will certainly settle and toward which some of the dollars of the efficiently occupied will certainly flow. It is clear from this somewhat flowery introduction that the writer has given no narrow interpretation to the subject. As an economist, he believes in specialization and a "division of labor"; as a realist he knows that many a farmer will paint his own barn and repair his own tractor without sacrificing his position as a farmer and that the employment which such jobs provide is just as truly employment "in agriculture" as if it has been spent in picking cotton or reaping grain. Too fine a distinction, therefore, will not be drawn between agricultural and nonagricultural jobs on the farm or even between employment "in agriculture" and employment which grows out of agricultural enterprise. As a source of "employment," southern agriculture in the past has established something of a record in comparison with other sections of the country. In 1940, for example, nearly one-half of all agricultural workers in the United States lived on southern farms and were trying to make a living on one-third of the nation's agricultural land with one-fourth of the nation's livestock (Fig. 1). For "standing room," the average farmworker in the north central statesrequired 64acres of crop land and 22 acres of pasture as compared with 24 acres of crop land and 11 acres of pasture for his brother under the southern sun. The land, moreover, was more productive where it was less crowded. If north central agriculture had provided farm jobs in the same proportion as southern agriculture, this alone would have been sufficient to have opened up nearly 4.5 million new employment opportunities (?) in farming.l This is a larger number than were classified as workers on southern farms in 1940. While the states in the western part of the United States have in effect insisted upon an average investment of approximately $12,000 as prerequisite to the operation of a farm,we in the South have been content to do business with something

G. H. Aull

Papers

The Southern Farm Family in an Era of Change. Economic Aspects

Employment Prospects in Southern Agriculture

Research Needs in Land Tenure and Farm Finance

The Economics of the Bible