The Experiences of Rural Areas and Culture of Minority Groups

The experiences of different groups in rural settings are of significant importance to the study of rural geography itself. In particular, the experiences of both young people and travellers, often labelled as "others", are important in the way they provide a different perspective on rural spaces and cultures from the common `productivist' and `idyllic' cultural views. However, because they are minority groups and "different" from the "normal" majority, young people and travellers experience significant stereotyping from countryside cultures. This impacts on their experiences of rural space and culture.

In rural settings, young peoples' experiences are predominantly `nature' and agriculture based, but can also be heavily influenced by social elements such as parents, the community and social hierarchies that exist in these rural spaces. A number of studies have been recently undertaken to investigate the previously unexplored experiences of children in rural spaces. Many of the studies found that, as expected, children experienced rural spaces and cultures in an `idyllic' way. One scholar noted that `Deeply shaded by the legacies of romanticism' the rural idyll abounds with `the critical notions of innocence and naturalness' (Jones, 1997: 164).

Most children around the ages of eight to ten, as reported in a study undertaken in the rural setting of Clutha Valley Primary School in South Dunedin and the urban setting of North East Valley Normal in Dunedin, have had agricultural and natural experiences of rural New Zealand. One subject interviewed during the course of the study remarked how he went `eeling', `riding motorbikes', `running around in the paddocks', `getting muddy from working on the farm' and `working hard at hay...

... middle of paper ...

...ocal authorities, so that they have very little space with which to move. As a result, they tend to frequent areas of rural towns and villages that offer spaciousness and a sense of freedom, such as village greens, fields, and skate parks.

Because minority groups such as young people and travellers are "beyond dominant rural culture" and different to the rural majority, they are classed as others. This classification, mainly rising out of the productivist and idyllic countryside cultures, significantly influences the way the two minority groups live, and so their experiences are to a large degree shaped by these stereotypes. However, it has been found that both groups enjoy `nature' and agricultural-based experiences and so have a good understanding of rurality. Despite this, a number of differences exist between the experiences of young people and travellers.