An Evaluation of the New Regionalism
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Date
1954-06
Authors
Wasmann, Mary L.
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Abstract
During the last thirty-five years there has been noticeable in the literature of the social sciences a ride and decline in emphasis upon regionalism, particularly "the new regionalism". The term "the new regionalism" will be used in this study to refer to the type of regionalism advocated by a group of men located principally in the universities of the southeastern United States. Howard W. Odum of the University of North Carolina was the out-standing spokesman and acknowledged leader of this group. His university supplied the facilities for the study and practice of the new regionalism, and the University of North Carolina Press has been one of the foremost publishers of the theories and studies of the new regionalisms. At the height of their enthusiasm the advocates of the new regionalism seemed to regard it as a sort of magic formula which would lead to the solving of all social problems. They claimed that social scientists working within the framework of this approach could provide knowledge in a form in which it could and would be used by social planners and administrators... It will be the primary purpose of this study to try to identify some of the reasons for the apparent difficulty the new regionalism experienced in attaining the position for which it was intended by its advocates, that position as guiding principle for all social science research... Aside from the primary purpose of examining the inherent possibilities and limitations in the concept of the new regionalism, this paper has a secondary purpose in presenting a case study of the growth of an idea. The new regionalism will be traced from its early beginnings in many different forms, through a period of enlargement during which a number of related ideas were brought together. The last period, during which the popularity of the total concept seems to be declining, is a period of refinement. Some phases of the concept of the new regionalism are being dropped or deemphasized. Others are being brought to the fore. The conclusions reached at the close of this paper can only be tentative; the concept of the new regionalism is still changing, and it may yet emerge in such a form as to necessitate altering evaluations which have been reached at this stage of its development.
Description
106 pages
Keywords
Regionalism, New regionalism