Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationRural communities in the United States experience material privation at rates surpassing other sorts of communities. These conditions have caused demonstrable harm to rural denizens. At the same time, cultural denigration and stereotyping of rural people and places has become amplified. This dissertation seeks to both complicate these simplistic stereotypes of rural America, while also considering how communication scholars might productively approach the problem of rural marginalization. Specifically it explores how young people in a rural school navigate the terrain of rural marginalization and stereotypes in making sense of themselves and their community. To answer these questions, a critical analysis of extended rhetorical fieldwork with a group of rural high school debate students is offered that explores how ruralism, rusticity, and rurality are reified, refracted, or resisted throughout the discourses of community, school, and team performed by the students, teachers, and community members of the study site. Based on this analysis, conclusions are offered that point toward more nuanced theoretical attributes of the rural United States, implications for teachers and scholars studying or working in rural communities, and directions for future research