Defining the rural is a task fraught with difficulties. Critically discuss the attempts made by academics in defining the rural: Rural Geography Assignment, ATU, Ireland

Option 1: Defining the rural is a task fraught with difficulties. Critically discuss the attempts made by academics in defining the rural AND the lay discourses of rurality produced by others.

Option 2: A major component of rural restructuring in the past century has been the fundamental transformation of agriculture in the developed world. In your essay, critically discuss the shift in agricultural practices from a state-sponsored productivist regime to the emergence of a multifunctional agricultural regime.