Workers' identities in transition : the impact of deindustrialisation among Scottish steelworkers from the 1990s

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

Work is intrinsic to the formation of both personal and collective identity. It comprises a major component of an individual's life, with one's occupation often acting as a 'calling card' by which people define themselves and others within society. If we accept this rendition of work as being paramount to identity, then it follows that the removal of work, through redundancy and unemployment, or the transition into new and different employment, will have a consequential impact on an individual's identity. The existing body of literature on the impact of deindustrialisation has primarily outlined the devastation it has wrought upon working-class communities collectively and redundant workers individually.;However, the transitions workers made following their loss of employment, specifically the significance of these transitions in relation to identity, remains largely absent from the literature. This thesis aims to address this absence by analysing the impact that loss of employment and transition into new employment has on workers' identities and perceptions of work.
Date of Award15 Feb 2018
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University Of Strathclyde
SponsorsUniversity of Strathclyde

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