The Rural Review

An online journal produced in conjunction with the Rural Reconciliation Project.

The Rural Review publishes digests of important academic contributions, program information, blog-style commentary, and periodic roundups of rural items from across academic disciplines and scholarly media.

Contributions from interested authors are welcome. Find our author guidelines here.

Rural Reconciliation 11/14/24 Rural Reconciliation 11/14/24

Electricity Regulation in the Public Power State: Nebraska’s Electricity System and the Debate Between Public Ownership and Public Control

The electricity industry in the United States is undergoing a period of massive and turbulent transition. One recurring question is whether public regulation or public ownership can best serve public interest goals. Nearly every state has an agency with intensive regulatory powers to direct or influence the activities of electric utilities. However, even with state regulatory oversight, private utilities have faced persistent criticism, and public ownership of utilities is often touted as a potentially desirable alternative. In this debate about public ownership versus public control, Nebraska offers an interesting and underexamined case-study.

Rural Reconciliation 9/10/24 Rural Reconciliation 9/10/24

How an Act Focusing on Native American Artifacts and Remains May Give Indigenous Communities More Bargaining Power

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) made headlines in early 2024 as many major American museums closed exhibits and entire wings in order to comply with new regulations governing the possession and display of Native American cultural artifacts and funerary objects. But the recent regulatory changes have the potential to affect more than museum displays—they may give reservation residents a stronger say in what the government does on their land.

Rural Reconciliation 5/2/24 Rural Reconciliation 5/2/24

Rural Brain Drain

Sabrina Sergeant 9/27/23 Sabrina Sergeant 9/27/23

Infographic No. 5: What is Brain Drain?

Rural Reconciliation 9/25/23 Rural Reconciliation 9/25/23

Infographic No. 4: Queer Life in Rural Spaces

Sabrina Sergeant 9/22/23 Sabrina Sergeant 9/22/23

Infographic No. 3: Food Insecurity in Indian Country

Third in our series of infographics produced in Emily Prifogle's Law in Rural America seminar is a closer look into food insecurity in Indian Country by third-year law student at Michigan Law, Taylor Hopkins

Rural Reconciliation 9/20/23 Rural Reconciliation 9/20/23

Infographic No. 2: Rural Alaska Governance

Second in our series of infographics produced in Emily Prifogle's Law in Rural America seminar is by Alaska native and recent graduate of Michigan Law, Mitchel Forbes, with thoughts on "over-goverance" in rural Alaska and tips for dissolving local municipal governments:

Rural Reconciliation 9/19/23 Rural Reconciliation 9/19/23

Infographic No. 1: Rural Park Access

First in our series of infographics produced in Emily Prifogle's Law in Rural America seminar: an insightful look at how access to parks and public greenspaces varies across the urban/rural spectrum by Robert Brewer, a third-year law student at Michigan Law.

Rural Reconciliation 9/19/23 Rural Reconciliation 9/19/23

Rural Law Short Course: A Mini-Series in Infographics

In this original essay, Emily A. Prifogle, a legal historian and Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, first discusses curricular innovations happening at several U.S. law schools on rural law and then introduces a series of related infographics to be featured on the Rural Review this week.