本文首先对国外乡村社会地理的研究进行阶段划分与总结,分析了九十年代以来新的研究进展,然后重点介绍了当前几个重点研究领域:乡村社区、城乡关系、乡村景观及乡村社会问题等,最后指出发展不足及今后的发展方向。全文旨在通过大量文献分析,梳理出国外乡村社会地理的研究进展与今后发展趋势,期望能够对国内相关研究与乡村发展具有一定理论与实践意义。

Based on plentiful literature, this paper has a review on the progress, evolvement and the main contents during each phases of social rural geography overseas, and the main trends in future are pointed out in the end. From time-sequence firstly, the study course is measured off three main phases before 1990s, and the central contents of each phase and the extension of scope are illuminated:Before the 2nd World War, there was some social phenomenal research about country, but it was few in the mass; From then to 1970s, urbanization led to the neglect of country, and it was wane for rural geography consequently; The next 20 years, environmental pressure and sustainable development was put forward, so rural geography was regarded and appeared rebirth, and the study of rural society became a hotspot accordingly. Then from the angle of research objects, a summing-up of this period is made. It mainly includes the study as below:material products, population, equity and justice, family and community, etc. Grounded on above summary, new progresses after 1990s are also analyzed. Along with the 3rd turn of human geography during twenty century, which is from spatial analysis to social-cultural turn, the research of this field is unfolding cultural and postmodern turns especially from 1990s, and these trends will be the primary orientation of this field henceforth. Following this, the authors point out that the course of social rural geography roots in two paths:rural geography and rural sociology. Some significant domains of current social rural geography abroad are introduced in detail at the same time:rural-urban relations and rural social problems are thought much and are fruitful all along, up to now they are still indispensable; the study of rural community is the focus of this subject all the while and is regarded especially latest years; rural landscape research is a fresh field for landscape science and planning, more for social rural geography. In addition, some research of influencing rural development is introduced, such as policy, institution, hot issues and burst-out incident, etc.
Founded on foregoing analysis the great progress of this field can be seen, and the vivid subject character has been formed gradually, but the subject system hasn't perfected yet. Then the authors advance the main development orientation for the future:theoretical exploration, subject synthesis and study on new issues under new background. By this review, the authors' aims are that they can make the progress and trends in the future of social rural geography abroad clear, and hope to promote, even a little, the progress of domestic correlative research theoretically and practically.