提到「鄉村」這一名詞，大家都不會陌生。但是提到「鄉村社會學」，可能就會有人說: 有這樣一門學科嗎? 鄉村需要研究?
我的答案是: 「鄉村」當然需要研究，且現在更需要我們的關注。
和許多國家一樣，台灣經過工業化的洗禮，城市變為國家發展的重心，而隨著鄉村人口外移、農業產值萎縮，鄉村逐漸被人們淡忘，成為多數人心中緬懷過去的記憶，或是假日遊山玩水的去處。現代化固然縮短了城鄉差距，也使得鄉村生活水準大幅改善，但是鄉村仍然保有其特殊性。而占鄉村經濟活動中重要一環的農業，即使被視為是沒落的夕陽產業，依舊被認為是一國社會、歷史、文化的重要資產。如果說｢農為邦本｣，我們又怎能忽略我們的鄉村及生活在那裡的人民?
因此，雖然城市及都市社會學是許多社會學家的焦點，但仍然有部份的社會學及相關領域學者持續研究鄉村、農業、環境及其他有關的議題。「鄉村社會學」這個領域自成立以來，和其他學科一樣歷經盛衰，但在近年來有愈來愈蓬勃的氣象。一方面，許多國家的鄉村社區及農業生產經歷重大變革，鄉村居民面臨的許多問題不斷地吸引學者關注。另一方面，隨著全球化的浪潮，全球農糧體系的改變與整合，地球環境的持續惡化，也使得愈來愈多的學者投入鄉村研究（rural studies），應用的理論、方法愈趨多元，鄉村社會學的研究日漸活潑，廣度及深度愈見提昇。
在這一學期中，我們會探訪鄉村社會學這一領域的歷史及其曾經歷的危機與轉機。我們會從農業、社區、及環境三方面來討論主要的理論與議題，以台灣的個案或實證研究做為閱讀文本的基礎。此外要說明的是，大多數在亞洲及非洲的人民仍然是居住在鄉村地區，因此鄉村的建設與發展被許多國際組織（例如: 世界銀行及聯合國等）視為努力提昇該地區生活水準的重要關鍵，鄉村研究也因此常與發展社會學（Sociology of Development）一起討論。因我個人研究興趣的關係，加上時間有限，這部分的文獻只好割愛。

When it comes to the term "countryside", everyone is familiar with it. But when it comes to "rural sociology", some people may ask: Is there such a subject? Does rural areas need to be studied?
My answer is: "Rural areas" certainly need to be studied, and now they need our attention even more.
Like many countries, Taiwan has been baptized by industrialization, and cities have become the focus of national development. As the rural population emigrates and agricultural output shrinks, the countryside has gradually been forgotten by people, becoming a memory of the past in most people's hearts, or a place to visit during holidays. Although modernization has shortened the gap between urban and rural areas and greatly improved rural living standards, rural areas still retain their uniqueness. Agriculture, which accounts for an important part of rural economic activities, is still considered an important asset of a country's society, history, and culture, even if it is regarded as a declining sunset industry. If it is said that "agriculture is the foundation of a country", how can we ignore our villages and the people living there?
Therefore, although urban and urban sociology is the focus of many sociologists, there are still some scholars in sociology and related fields who continue to study rural, agricultural, environmental and other related issues. Since its establishment, the field of "rural sociology" has experienced ups and downs like other disciplines, but it has become increasingly prosperous in recent years. On the one hand, rural communities and agricultural production in many countries have experienced major changes, and many problems faced by rural residents continue to attract the attention of scholars. On the other hand, with the wave of globalization, the changes and integration of the global agricultural and food system, and the continued deterioration of the global environment, more and more scholars are investing in rural studies, and the applied theories and methods are becoming more diverse. The research on rural sociology is becoming increasingly active, and its breadth and depth are increasing.
In this semester, we will explore the history of the field of rural sociology and the crises and turns it has experienced. We will discuss the main theories and issues from the three aspects of agriculture, community, and environment, using cases or empirical studies in Taiwan as the basis for reading texts. In addition, it should be noted that most people in Asia and Africa still live in rural areas. Therefore, rural construction and development are regarded by many international organizations (such as the World Bank and the United Nations) as an important key to efforts to improve living standards in the region. Rural studies are therefore often discussed together with the sociology of development. Due to my personal research interests and limited time, this part of the literature had to be cut off.

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