The Financialisation of Agriculture and Food

About the Book

Rural societies around the world are changing in fundamental ways, both at their own initiative and in response to external forces. The Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies examines the organisation and transformation of rural society in more developed regions of the world, taking an interdisciplinary and problem-focused approach. Written by leading social scientists from many countries, it addresses emerging issues and challenges in innovative and provocative ways to inform future policy. This volume is organised around eight emerging social, economic and environmental challenges:

• Demographic change.
• Economic transformations.
• Food systems and land.
• Environment and resources.
• Changing configurations of gender and rural society.
• Social and economic equality.
• Social dynamics and institutional capacity.
• Power and governance.

Cross-cutting these challenges are the growing interdependence of rural and urban; the rise in inequality within and between places; the impact of fiscal crisis on rural societies; neoliberalism, power and agency; and rural areas as potential sites of resistance. The Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies is required reading for anyone concerned with the future of rural areas.

Information & image source: Routledge, Link (24 July 2017)

Biographical Notes

Prof. Dr. Jörg Gertel (SFB 1199 & Institute for Geography, Leipzig University, Germany
Jörg Gertel studied human geography, social anthropology and Middle East studies in Marburg, Freiburg and Damascus and gained a PhD and a venia legendi in geography from the University of Freiburg. His work in Leipzig is concerned with understanding the processes and dynamics of uncertainty and insecurity in the context of globalization and financialization. He focuses on four topics: food studies, markets and mobilities, youth studies, and urban development.

Dr. Sarah Ruth Sippel (SFB 1199 & Institute of Anthropology, Leipzig University, Germany)
Sarah Ruth Sippel studied Middle Eastern studies and philosophy (Leipzig, Germany and Aix-en-Provence, France) and received her PhD in geography (Leipzig). In her PhD dissertation she combined a global agri-food systems perspective with various approaches to human and livelihood security in order to investigate processes of social differentiation in Moroccan export agriculture. Her current research project addresses the diverse imaginations of land through the lens of Australia’s increasing agricultural ties to the Gulf States and China.