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N E W F R CORPORATIZING O N RURAL EDUCATION T I E R NEOLIBERAL GLOBALIZATION AND S REACTION IN THE UNITED STATES I N E JASON A. CERVONE D U C A T I O N , C U L T U R E , A N D P O L I T I C S New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics Series editor Kenneth J. Saltman University of Massachusetts, Boston North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics focuses on both topical educational issues and highly original works of educational policy and theory that are critical, publicly engaged, and interdisciplinary, drawing on contemporary philosophy and social theory. The books in the series aim to push the bounds of academic and public educational discourse while remaining largely accessible to an educated reading public. New Frontiers aims to contribute to thinking beyond the increasingly unified view of public education for narrow economic ends (economic mobility for the individual and global economic competition for the society) and in terms of efficacious delivery of education as akin to a consumable commodity. Books in the series provide both innovative and original criticism and offer visions for imagining educational theory, policy, and practice for radically different, egalitarian, and just social transformation. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14741 Jason A. Cervone Corporatizing Rural Education Neoliberal Globalization and Reaction in the United States Jason A. Cervone University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics ISBN 978-3-319-64461-5 ISBN 978-3-319-64462-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-64462-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954291 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover illustration: © National Geographic Creative / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For Emily A cknowledgments This book began as my doctoral dissertation, so first and foremost I must express my gratitude to my advisor Kenneth Saltman, without whose insights and guidance these ideas never could have been connected to form a coherent project. This book also would not have been possible without the faculty and staff at UMass Dartmouth, particularly João Paraskeva, Ricardo Rosa, Sheila Macrine, and Leila Rosa, as well as my dissertation group Teresa Cruz and Michael Savaria, and the rest of Cohort 3. An earlier version of Chap. 3 appears in the Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies and would not have been possible without the editorial skills of Tyler Pollard. Special thanks must also go to Renie Avery, Juan Lopez, and Lisa DiMartino for their patience while I balanced school and work. Eric Cervone and John Cervone, whom I can always look to for different perspectives. Finally, none of this would have been possible without the love and support of Emily Holden-Cervone, who made the effort to read through everything to ensure I was actually mak- ing sense. vii c ontents 1 I ntroduction 1 Part I Consequences of Neoliberal Corporatization 11 2 Corporatizing Rural Schools 13 3 Religious and Market Fundamentalisms 39 4 Environmental Sacrifice 67 Part II Abstraction of Space and Minds 93 5 Production of Rural Space 95 6 Destructive Identities 123 7 Conclusion 151 Index 159 ix CHAPTER 1 Introduction It is still too early for a postmortem on American politics, as it will be years before the fallout can be properly assessed, but it is fair to say that the elec- tion of Donald Trump to the US Presidency may have signaled the end of the political establishment in the United States as we know it. As poll after poll came in showing an inevitable victory for Hillary Clinton, it seemed as though the status quo of neoliberalism with identity politics mixed in would be enough to overcome the frightening rhetoric that was emerging from the Republican side. However, rural America saw a large population of angry, white men and women come out in droves to the shock of the media and political establishment alike. Pundits were quick to jump to conclusions about what could have spurred such an event. Many claimed it racial; a white backlash to eight years of a black president, or that it was a deep-seated misogyny that still runs through the country. Others claimed that it was economic anger stirred from years of living in poverty watching industries decline and jobs moved overseas. Others still explained that it was a response to years of being ignored by mainstream politics. All of these explanations are valid, but none seem to go deep enough or to recognize the nuances and connections between all the issues being raised. There is a deeper structural problem that manifests itself in these racist and misogy- nist behaviors that come to a head in rural areas in the United States. The white supremacists and neo-Nazis do exist and are a very real prob- lem. The rampant misogyny directed at Clinton is also a serious problem. © The Author(s) 2018 1 J.A. Cervone, Corporatizing Rural Education, New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64462-2_1 2 1 INTRODUCTION But these issues alone do not explain the groundswell of support Trump received. Rather, this is the result of a large, extremely angry population that lacks the ability to articulate or properly channel that anger. While there is no excuse for the horribly sexist things said about Hillary Clinton, to believe that she lost because rural voters would not consent to being ruled by a woman is short-sighted and misunderstands both the realities of rural political and economic life as well as what Clinton truly represents to the rural underclass. As much as this was a vote for authoritarianism, it was also a vote against political elitism. Identity politics aside, Hillary Clinton epitomizes the political elite that has been out of touch with rural life in the United States for decades. The democratic belief that it was her turn because she was most qualified due to her experience and longevity in the political elite runs counter to most ideals held in rural America. Again, this is not to say misogyny does not exist or was not a large factor in the election. Hatred of women in general is as ingrained and structural in the society as racism, but it is not the reason for Clinton’s loss. Rather it is general apathy toward this misogyny that allows people to overlook the things that Trump has said. It is also unlikely a Clinton presidency would have done much to change that. Like President Obama and Bill Clinton before her, Hillary Clinton would have spent the majority of her term placating her Wall Street friends and maybe dabbling slightly in identity politics possibly improving family leave and speaking for equal wages in order to maintain a veneer of Progressivism. Most likely she would have pursued a neoliberalized form of feminism that lionizes female CEOs as if the way to equality is for women to increase their representation in patriarchal capitalism rather than struggle against the system that creates their oppression in the first place. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild describes this phenomenon, writing that many rural Americans feel as if they are unwanted in their own country. She writes that from their experience they witness: Strangers step ahead of you in line, making you anxious, resentful, and afraid. A president allies with the line cutters, making you feel distrustful, betrayed. A person ahead of you in line insults you as an ignorant redneck, making you feel humiliated and mad. Economically, culturally politically, you are suddenly a stranger in your own land.1 Hochschild captures perfectly the anxieties felt by the rural underclass along with trying to understand their feelings of betrayal and anger at a political elite that claims to represent the interests of the most oppressed

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