Next-Year Country : A Study of Rural Social Organization in Alberta

Jean Burnet (1920-2009) was a Canadian sociologist who taught founded Glendon College’s (York University) Sociology department and whose research interests included Canadian history and ethnic studies. In 1946, Burnet travelled to Hanna, Alberta (northeast of Calgary) to observe community life in the town and its rural surroundings. In 1951, she published her findings in “Next-Year Country.” The volume identifies various factors that contributed to the community’s struggle to establish stable social organization. From exploring the impact of drought on the region’s agricultural economy to scrutinizing ethnic and religious cliques in the community to analyzing new technology’s role in homes, Burnet casts a close sociological eye over rural prairie life in the 1940s. Includes index and bibliography.