Title: Steeltown U.S.A: work and memory in Youngstown
Abstract:Once symbol of a robust steel industry and blue-collar economy, Ohio, and its famous Jeannette Blast Furnace have become key icons in tragic tale of American deindustrialization. Sherry Lee Linkon and...Once symbol of a robust steel industry and blue-collar economy, Ohio, and its famous Jeannette Blast Furnace have become key icons in tragic tale of American deindustrialization. Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo examine inevitable tension between those discordant visions, which continue to exert great power over Steeltown's citizens as they struggle to redefine their lives. When the was shut down in 1978, 50,000 Youngstown workers lost their jobs, cutting heart out of local economy. Even as community organized a nationally recognized effort to save mills, city was rocked by economic devastation, runaway crime, and mob scandal, problems that persist twenty-five years later. In midst of these struggles Jenny remained standing as a proud symbol of community's glory days, still a dominant force in construction of both individual and collective identities in Youngstown. Focusing on stories and images that both reflect and perpetuate how Youngstown understands itself as a community, Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo have forged a historical and cultural study of relationship between community, memory, work, and conflict. Drawing on written texts, visual images, sculptures, films, songs, and interviews with people who have lived and worked in authors show importance of memory in forming collective identity of a place. Steeltown, U.S.A. is a richly developed portrait of a place, showing how images of Jenny and of Youngstown have been used in national media and connecting these representations to broader public conversation about work and place: Bruce Springsteen's song Youngstown, book Journey to Nowhere, and other pop culture artifacts have helped make Youngstown symbolic epicenter of American deindustrialization. And while many people see need to get over past and on with future, in rushing to erase difficult parts of Youngstown's history they might also forget powerful events that made city so important, such as struggles for economic and social justice that improved lives of steelworkers. This multifaceted study of meaning of work and place in one community pointedly depicts relationships among economic development, media representations, and community life. As we see how people's faith in value of their work dwindled away in their stories can help us understand not only how meaning of work has changed but also why changing meaning of work matters.Read More
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-02-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 42
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