The 86th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society

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The 86th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, USA at the Madison Concourse Hotel July 24-30, 2024. The meeting will explore the theme of Reconceptualizing Rurality: Toward a More Diverse and Inclusive Understanding. 

 Register Here 

Field Trips in Madison Wisconsin

This year the RSS Program Committee along with several research interest groups (RIGs) planned field trips to help RSS members explore and engage with the local communities. Members can sign-up for the fields trips when registering for the conference. 


 Field trip 1

Lovely Leopold, Fabulous Farms, Indigenous Food and Great Tunes

When: July 24, 2024, departing 8:00 am from Madison Concourse Hotel, Return 3:00-4 pm

Sponsors: SAFRIG, NRRIG, Community, Health & Family RIG, Poverty RIG, Gender & Sexualities RIG,Teaching and Curriculum RIG, Rural Policy RIG, and Soil Health & Agroecological Living Lab (SHALL)  

What:  Come join your friends and fellows for the first RSS fieldtrip in recent memory. Participants will kick off the day by traveling to the Aldo Leopold Foundation and visit the historic Leopold Shack near Baraboo. Then, participants will travel to the Bula’s Pleasant Valley Farm and visit with the Sauk Soil & Water Improvement Group. After this, participants will travel to White Oak Savannah and enjoy indigenous foods prepared by chef Dan Cornelius, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. The lunch will include a tour of the sanctuary and a lecture-concert, “Hearing the Country” by Professors Taylor Ackley and Michael Bell. White Oak Savannah neighbors Governor Dodge State Park, and as time allows, field trip participants will also visit the park before returning to Madison to enjoy President Jenn Sherman’s address. 

This is limited to 55 people.

Costs: $15 for students, $35 for all others (including catered lunch).


Field trip 2

Symphony and Dinner on the Capital Square

When: July 24, 2024, 7:00pm to roughly 8:30pm; rain date, July 25th

What: By happy coincidence, Rural Sociologist Michael Bell’s social-ecological symphony, Regeneration: A Pentalogy, will premiere at a free Concert on the Square, just a few minutes by foot from the RSS Conference site, the Madison Concourse Hotel. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra will perform the work, which will also be choreographed and danced live by Kanopy Dance Company, with projection on big screens around the stage. The program also includes a Bach overture, a Mozart violin concerto, and episodes from Bernstein’s musical On the Town.

Anyone can attend the concert for free and join the roughly 25,000 Madisonians who typically attend. But this ticketed registration is for a rare and special opportunity to book a spot at an RSS table in front of the stage for a closeup view of the performance, while enjoying a delicious meal catered by neighboring establishments. Book now and early, as registration is very limited.  

Book now as registration is very limited. If you would like to purchase more than one ticket for this event, please contact the RSS Business Office: [email protected]

Cost: $100 per person (including the catered dinner). 

 For more information about the meeting please email: [email protected]

 We look forward to seeing you at the 2024 Annual Meeting!