Homesick: Race and Exclusion in Rural New England

by Emily Walton

Overview

A racial demographic transition has come to rural northern New England. White population losses sit alongside racial and ethnic minority population gains in nearly all of the small towns of the Upper Valley region spanning New Hampshire and Vermont. Homesick considers these trends in a part of the country widely considered to be progressive, offering new insights on the ways white residents maintain racial hierarchies even there.

Walton focuses on the experiences of mostly well—educated migrants of color moving to the area to take well—paid jobs – in this case in health care, higher education, software development, and engineering. Walton shows that white residents maintain their social position through misrecognition—a failure or unwillingness to see people of color as legitimate, welcome, and valuable members of the community. The ultimate impact of such misrecognition is a profound sense of homesickness, a deep longing for a place in which one can feel safe, wanted, and accepted.

Tightly and sensitively argued, this book helps us better understand how to recognize and unsettle such processes of exclusion in diversifying spaces in general.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781503644519
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	11/25/2025
Pages:	164
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Emily Walton is Associate Professor of Sociology at Dartmouth College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. A Socioeconomic and Demographic Portrait 10 of the Upper Valley
2. A Cultural Portrait of the Upper Valley
3. How Misrecognition Works
4. Homesickness: An Emotional Manifestation of Racial Inequality
Conclusion
Methodological Appendix
Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"A beautifully written and engaging manuscript that fills a conspicuous void in the academic literature on rural America and specifically immigration and demographic change in the rural United States. This book marks an important contribution to the sociological literature on race and on rurality." —Leah Schmalzbauer, Amherst College

" A well—argued book, using multiple data sources to build the case that despite its progressive identity, the Upper Valley is not particularly inclusive or welcoming to people of color. Well—written, and with a clear story and sharp analysis, Homesick is a great book for the classroom and beyond." —Sarah Mayorga, Brandeis University

From the Publisher