Southern Rural Sociological Association
...an educational and scientific organization established to foster the study, understanding, and application of rural sociology in the South.
JOURNAL OF RURAL SOCIAL SCIENCES
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The Journal of Rural Social Sciences is a scholarly refereed journal published twice a year that provides an energetic forum for discussions on rural social change. Manuscripts engaging theoretical and empirical analyses that evaluate the factors and implications of rural social change for the southern United States, the United States overall, and at the global level are welcomed.
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Journal History
The Journal of Rural Social Sciences (JRSS) – formerly known as Southern Rural Sociology– is the official peer-reviewed publication of the Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA). It is an open-access journal published in collaboration with an Editor and Editorial Office selected by the SRSA Board of Directors. John Green (PhD) currently serves as Editor in Chief, Elizabeth Young Sweeney (PhD) serves as Managing Editor, and they are the conveners of the volunteer Editorial Board.
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From 1983 until 2009, the first 24 volumes of the journal were published as Southern Rural Sociology. Starting in 2010, volumes 25 through 33 were published as Journal of Rural Social Sciences. These previous issues may be found here: Previous Issues.
Visit:
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/jrss/ (Volumes 1 through 37)
OR
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/jrss/ (Volume 38 and forward)
to access The Journal of Rural Social Sciences, submission guidelines, and other pertinent information. For more information contact JRSS editor John J. Green (john.green@msstate.edu).
Call for Abstracts – Special Issue on Local and Regional Food Systems
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Local and regional food systems have received renewed interest in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated supply chain problems along with concerns over extreme weather events and farm community vitality. Furthermore, there have been efforts in the southern region of the U.S. to build local and regional food systems as part of development efforts across the rural-urban continuum. Thus, there is a need for scholarship on these and related issues to expand knowledge, guide practice, and inform policy.
In partnership with the SERA-47 Local and Regional Food Systems Multistate Project and the Southern Rural Development Center, the Journal of Rural Social Sciences will publish a special issue on these and related topics. Submissions are welcomed and encouraged from a wide range of disciplines, as this is a multidisciplinary field of work. Authors should keep in mind the general social science (sociology, economics, geography, etc.) and Extension professional audiences, as they are the most common readers of this publication. Those writing from other disciplines can use this special issue as an avenue to present their work to these scholars and practitioners to advance multidisciplinary engagement. Manuscripts on general topics related to local and regional food systems are invited, especially those addressing original research, systematic research reviews, and development practices, including outreach and education. Papers should include some connection to/focus on the southern region of the U.S.
Authors are asked to submit abstracts (not to exceed 150 words) by November 7, 2025 for consideration. Following initial desk-review by the special issue editorial team, authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit full-length papers (not to exceed 9,000 words) by January 23, 2026. After a second desk-review, selected manuscripts will be sent out for the journal’s regular double-blind peer review process.
The Local and Regional Food Systems Special Issue Editors include: John J. Green and Grace Langford (Southern Rural Development Center/Mississippi State University), Kenrett Jefferson-Moore (North Carolina A&T State University), Kaylee South (Virginia Tech), and Courtney Brown (Oklahoma State University).
Abstracts should be submitted as Word document in an email attachment to John J. Green, JRSS Editor (jjg8@msstate.edu) and Elizabeth Sweeney, JRSS Managing Editor (eyoung@go.olemiss.edu).
The Journal of Rural Social Sciences (JRSS) is the official peer-reviewed publication of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, a member of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists. It is an open-access journal published in collaboration with Clemson University Press. For more information, including style requirements and submission processes, visit: https://open.clemson.edu/jrss/.
It is also recommended that authors submit an abstract for presentation of their work at the annual meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, to be held jointly with the Southern Association of Agriculture Sciences, February 1-2, 2026 in Louisville, KY. Abstracts are due to the SRSA by November 21, 2026, but authors submitting to the special issue should go ahead and submit their conference abstract at the same time as submitting for this special issue of the Journal of Rural Social Sciences (November 7). (Annual Meeting | Southern Rural Sociological Association)