Work and Identity: Historical and Cultural Contexts

262 Pages·2011·1.461 MB·English

by  John Kirk, Christine Wall (auth.)

Work and Identity
Historical and Cultural Contexts
John Kirk and
Christine Wall
Identity Studies in the Social Sciences
Series Editors: Margaret Wetherell, Open University; Valerie Hey,
Sussex University; Stephen Reicher, St Andrews University
Editorial Board:Marta Augoustinos, University of Adelaide, Australia;
Wendy Brown, University of California, Berkeley, USA;David
McCrone, University of Edinburgh, UK;Angela McRobbie,
Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK;Chandra Talpade
Mohanty, Syracuse University, USA;Harriet B. Nielsen, University of
Oslo, Norway;Ann Phoenix, Institute of Education, University of
London, UK;Mike Savage, University of Manchester, UK
Titles include:
Will Atkinson
CLASS, INDIVIDUALIZATION AND LATE MODERNITY
In Search of the Reflexive Worker
John Kirk and Christine Wall
WORK AND IDENTITY
Historical and Cultural Contexts
Ben Rogaly and Becky Taylor
MOVING HISTORIES OF CLASS AND COMMUNITY
Identity, Place and Belonging in Contemporary England
Margaret Wetherell (editor)
IDENTITY IN THE 21STCENTURY
New Trends in Changing Times
Margaret Wetherell (editor)
THEORIZING IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL ACTION
Identity Studies in the Social Sciences
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(outside North America only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order.
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Hampshire RG21 6XS, England
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Work and Identity
Historical and Cultural Contexts
John Kirk
Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, UK
and
Christine Wall
University of Westminster, UK
© John Kirk and Christine Wall 2011
Chapter 1 © John Kirk, Christine Wall and Steve Jefferys 2011
Chapter 4 © John Kirk, Christine Wall and Jane Martin 2011
Chapter 5 © Steve Jefferys 2011
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-58082-4
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
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The authors have asserted their rights to be identified
as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
HampshireRG21 6XS.
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Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
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ISBN 978-1-349-36871-6 ISBN 978-0-230-30562-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230305625
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managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
This book is dedicated to John Kirk (1957–2010)
Close friend, loyal colleague and exceptional scholar
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Contents
List of Tables and Figures viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
Part I Work and Identity: Exploring History, 19
Culture and Subjectivity
Chapter 1 Charting Historical Change: Work in the US and 21
UK during the Twentieth Century
With Steve Jefferys
Chapter 2 Narratives of Labour and Labour Lost: Working 46
Life and Its Representations
Chapter 3 Identity in Question and the Place of Work 77
Part II Work and Social Identity: Teaching, 99
Banking and Railway Work
Chapter 4 Working at the Chalk-face: Articulating the 101
‘Teacherly-Self’ and Educational Change
With Jane Martin
Chapter 5 Teller, Seller, Union Activist: Class Formation and 124
Changing Bank Worker Identities
Steve Jefferys
Chapter 6 Tracking the Place of Work Identity on the Rails 149
Part III Articulating Work Identities 177
Chapter 7 Something to Show For It: The Place of Work 179
Memorabilia in Three Occupations
Chapter 8 Narrating Work Identity: Oral Testimony and the 204
Place of Anecdotes
Conclusion 225
Appendix 232
Notes 233
References 238
Index 249
vii
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
1.1 American women’s membership (% of all women’s 22
employment) of major US occupational groups,
1900–1950
1.2 British women’s membership (% of all women’s 23
employment) of major British occupational groups,
1901–1951
1.3 Employment by status, occupation and sex in banking, 33
teaching and railways, 2005
1.4 Men and women in professional and managerial groups 34
by ethnic group, 1992–2000 (%)
1.5 Average proportion of non-white workforce in 35
companies by industry
1.6 Teacher ethnicity by British region 2004 (as percentage 36
of total teachers per region)
Figures
I.1 Work identification 5
1.1 British and US trade union membership (000s), 24
1900–1950
1.2 Trade union density (% of employed workers) in Britain 26
and the US, 1900–1950
1.3 Numbers of US jobs (000s) in services and manufacturing, 28
1919–2002
1.4 Shares (%) of all US employment in services (including 29
government services) and manufacturing, 1919–2002
1.5 UK jobs (000s) in services and manufacturing, 29
1921–2006
1.6 Shares (%) of all UK employment in services (including 30
government services) and manufacturing, 1921–2006
1.7 Numbers of US teachers and finance workers (millions), 31
1950–2007
1.8 UK men and women’s employment (millions) in finance 32
and public administration, health and education,
1978–2009
viii
List of Tables and Figures ix
1.9 Trade union density (%) in the US and UK, 1950–2005 39
2.1 Ruby Loftus screwing a Breech-ring 64
2.2 Ministry of Labour and National Service Recruitment 66
leaflet
2.3 Trades union journal front covers 70
2.4 Illustrations from careers literature 71
2.5 Teaching trades union journal front covers 73
2.6 Phase II (Rainy Day), Robert Mason, 1989 75
5.1 UK banking employment (000s) and interview cohorts, 128
1979–2006
7.1 Photograph 1 and photograph 2 188
7.2 Photograph 3 193
7.3 Photograph 4 and photograph 5 195
7.4 Photograph 6 and photograph 7 199