The aims of the SRHS are...
to coordinate and represent the concerns of rural history researchers;
to work on and encompass all historical periods;
to integrate the various different current approaches to rural history;
to operate as a platform for the exchange of information and ideas between institutions (archives, history associations, research and educational institutions, museums etc.);
to link all those interested in rural history at a local, regional, national and international level;
to function as an interface for potentially interested institutions in rural history.