Robert Bruno: Steel Worker Alley: How Class Works In Youngstown

1958 words - 8 pages

Kelvin Fields 3400:470:001 Fall 03Robert Bruno: Steel Worker Alley: How Class Works in Youngstown: Ithaca, New York Cornell University 1999. 222pgs.Beginning in the 1960s, labor history in the United States underwent a rather startling transformation, shifting its focus from historical studies of national economies, labor parties, and institutionalized labor movements to the social, cultural and political history of the working class. The means for this shift included the revitalization of multiple identities of workers through gender, racial, ethnic, and religious lines in order to explore working class experience in communities and localities. To examine the process of class formation, historians look into the records and historical memories of working class neighborhoods, union towns, and small communities.This method led to the publication of Mr. Robert Bruno's book Steel Worker Alley. The purpose of him writing this book was to contribute to the debate on class-consciousness by examining how the similarity of steelworkers lives on the job, at home and in their neighborhoods created the basis for a shared sense of identity for steelworkers. Mr. Bruno used methods as racial differences for example he mentions that Youngstown was notorious for its residential redlining towards blacks and segregation throughout some parts in the city.Bruno uses neighbor relations, he showed that the workers socialized together and helped each other out, and when finances permitted they live closer to one another. Other methods he uses were religious practices (most of the steelworkers were Roman Catholic) leisure (most steelworkers were avid sports fan), union involvement and party politics. All of these factors were necessary to support his argument that the post- World War II working class remained consciously and contentedly distinct from the middle class. Nevertheless steel-working men had a working class identity while they worked which transcended after the plant shut down.In Bruno's thesis he draws on interviews with dozens of former steelworkers and on research in local archives. Bruno explores the culture of the community, including such subjects as relations among co-workers, and class animosity and attitudes towards authority. With this work Bruno achieved his purpose and thesis perfectly. His book gives the readers a clear understanding on how life was for an average steelworker.Robert Bruno is an Associate Professor, at The University of Illinois; he works in the Institute of Labor & Industrial Relations Chicago Labor Education Program. Bruno's research focuses broadly on working-class and union studies issues. He is the author of the book Steelworker Alley: How Class Works in Youngstown and has also published articles in such journals at Workplace Democracy, Labor Studies Journal, Labor History, Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Working USA, and the Journal of Labor Research. Bruno is the co-author and presenter of a labor play,...

Find Another Essay On Robert Bruno: Steel Worker Alley: How class works in Youngstown

How does class influence identity in contemporary society?

766 words - 3 pages factors that shape our identity, as is how we spend the money we make. However there is no simple link between what we do and who we are (Opcit, p16) :The strength in which you identify yourself as a member of a social class will be shaped by your personal history, including your background, occupation and personal experiences (Opcit, p96).The emphasis in the mass media on diverse consumption-based lifestyles has reinforced awareness that

How does class influence identity in contemporary society?

812 words - 3 pages situations which can be either beneficial or disadvantageous for different class groupings. Weber recognized four main classes; upper, middle, working class and the poor. He argued that our status in social groups has a significant impact on how our identities are shaped but not the only factor.In the middle of the 1990s surveys showed that significant number of the population thought that their opportunities were affected by the social class they

How Important Is Class Size In Determining Successful Academic Achievement?

547 words - 2 pages . This essay will discuss that class size is one, but not the prime factor in determining the students’ successful academic achievement. It will then suggest what other factors, such as average teacher education, parental attention and education system background, could influence students in getting higher scores. It is true that recent surveys on how class size can affect the academic achievement indicate its positive effect. The most famous one

"The age of the knowledge worker". What does this mean, and how might control methods and strategies differ as the job and workforce change in this way.

2092 words - 8 pages , knowledge needed to be applied to these uneducated motions. How? By re-organising or re-engineering these motions.The future of the Manual Worker is bleak as more organisations in developed countries were moving away from manufacturing (popular for manual work) and towards an economy based on knowledge work. "More employees are working with their minds than with their muscles. Their value lies in their mental abilities and their knowledge."The

Discuss the role ornament in the work of post-modern architects. Refer to specific works of Hans Hollein, Michael Graves, Robert Verturi, Frank Gehry.

1487 words - 6 pages profession about wood, bricks, stones, steel and glass. Robert Verturi designs for domestic household items and heavy wood construction. Frank Gehry constructing curvaceous structures.Robert Venturi was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1925. He attended the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia and graduated from Princeton University. Architecture is a profession about wood, bricks, stones, steel and glass. It is also an art form that is based on words

How Poets Describe Their Attitude to Place in Several Works of Poetry

988 words - 4 pages How Poets Describe Their Attitude to Place in Several Works of Poetry Poets often write about the place they live in or come from. I am going to examine how poets how poets express their relationship to a particular place while considering their intentions, how thoughts and feelings are expressed, the use of language, connections between different poems and include my personal response. In "Hotel Room, 12th Floor

History of Ghosts during the Shakespearian era and how they're incorporated in his works.

2772 words - 11 pages Ghost History and Shakespeare's UsageCivilization in England during Shakespeare's time knew only of ghost's mainly through religious means. During the 16th century, there were two major religions that existed in England; Catholicism, which was commonly accepted and Protestantism, which was spread thin from Europe into England. The two had similar beliefs when it came to ghosts, but differed in the areas they were initiated in. Both religions

"The Shark Net" written by Robert Drewe essay: How does Robert Drewe shape the reader's response towards people and places and events in his memoir "The Shark Net"?

794 words - 3 pages people with no motive. These series of murder events reeked havoc in the middle-class suburbs of Perth causing anxiety. Drewe shapes the reader to understand the life, and character of Eric Cooke. He does this by introducing his insanity in the court room, and then establishing that he has a speech impediment caused by a hair lip. Drewe uses descriptive language of Cooke to shape the readers to respond in a negative manner, and to take dislike

Why might a care worker support a young person in looking back through their life? How best might they go about this, and what skills and sensitivities would they need to employ?

1177 words - 5 pages , good listener and never betray the child's confidences.Also the worker should be able to discuss with the child about things that can be less comfortable.Consistency and reliability are key factors in working with children that have been separated from their family of origin.Suzanne McGladdery point out how important it is to go at the child's pace and give the child the time to bring up all the issues he needs. In fact another important aspect in

Television, what it is, how it works (in term of physics) and its impact on society, including advantages and disadvantages.

1293 words - 5 pages that were produced. Then, in 1906, the American engineer Lee De Forest patented the triode vacuum tube. Then by 1920, the tube had been improved to the point where it could be used to amplify electric currents for television.The television developed over many years of refinement. The modern television works in the following way. It begins at a receiving antenna which captures the broadcast wave and carries the signal to the television receiver

PRE-1914 Prose Assignment: How does Robert Louis Stevenson create mystery and suspense in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'?

4554 words - 18 pages due to people's enduring interest in the darker and more sinister side of man. Nevertheless, Robert Louis Stevenson's original, 19th Century readers, would not have been as aware of the developing storyline as readers would be now. This was because the story at that time was a unique piece of work in terms of the detective / mystery genre. It would therefore not have necessarily occurred to people what the result of the subtle foreshadowing (the

Similar Essays

Isolation And Nature In The Works Of Robert Frost

3441 words - 14 pages Isolation and Nature in the Works of Robert Frost During the height of Robert Frost’s popularity, he was a well-loved poet who’s natural- and simple-seeming verse drew people - academics, artists, ordinary people both male and female - together into lecture halls and at poetry readings across the country.1 An eloquent, witty, and, above all else, honest public speaker, Frost’s readings imbued his poetry with a charismatic resonance

Los Angeles Catholic Worker And How It Contributes To The Works Of Mercy, The Works Of Peace And The Spiritual Works Of Mercy By Dorothy Day And Peter Maurin

2301 words - 9 pages Mercy, the Spiritual Works of Mercy, and the Works of peace in the tradition of the original Catholic Worker started by Dorothy and Peter.Chris and Dan Delaney, a former nun, and a former priest, founded the Los Angeles Catholic Worker in 1970. They left their order to get married, and to found the Los Angeles Catholic Worker. The Los Angeles Catholic Workers consists of two locations, the Ammon Hennacy House of Hospitality, and the Hospitality

Satire Of Class Distinction In The Film 'gosford Park' By Robert Altman (Including Techniques)

587 words - 2 pages things they do not wish to do, and pretend to someone they're not in order to maintain appearances. He does this to make the world aware of just how ridiculous and pointless class distinction is, which is relevant to the growing gap between the different socio-economic classes of today. His aim is to make us rethink our priorities, to bring about change, and reform society's values as a whole. Firstly, Altman uses the classification of upstairs and

London's Social Class In Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

805 words - 3 pages London's Social Class in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower