While the organization of rural life has been fundamentally transformed by institutional and social changes that have occurred since the mid-twentieth century, rural people and communities have proved resilient in the face of these transformations.

Co-authored with David Brown, Rural People and Communities in the 21st Century: Resilience and Transformation (Polity, 2011) examines the causes and consequences of major social and economic changes affecting rural communities and populations during the first decades of the twenty-first century, and explores policies developed to ameliorate problems or enhance opportunities. 

Schafft is an Associate Professor of Education at Pennsylvania State University. His presentation at the Poverty and Place conference is “Bust Amidst the Boom:  The Creation of New Insecurities and Inequalities within Pennsylvania’s Shale Gas Boomtowns.”