Title
Making a postmodern turn: re-creating community cultural capital during economic restructurings
Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2009
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Cornelia Flora
Abstract
After Whirlpool Corporation officials acquired Maytag Corporation in 2006, Maytag operations in Newton, Iowa, the birthplace of Maytag and former home to Maytag headquarters office and a long-standing manufacturing plant, were subsequently closed. With the closings, Newton residents encounter a double victimization. In addition to losing the community's primary employer and tax base contributor, residents lost a primary source of community culture for over 100 years. This study examines residents' practices in re-creating community cultural capital - Newton's collective identities, senses of place, and general cultural ways - following local Maytag closings. Along with focusing on the interplay between structure and agency during the re-creation of community culture, I examine Newton's post-Maytag transition as a community that is making a `postmodern turn' due to residents' reliance on new methods of sustainability that reflects an emergence of a new stage of capitalism in Newton. In particular, I will explore the cultural consequences of Newton's postmodern turn and the implications of these cultural changes for rebuilding community sustainability as a whole.
Copyright Owner
Ryan Orr
Copyright Date
2009
Language
en
Date Available
2012-04-29
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
179 pages
Recommended Citation
Orr, Ryan, "Making a postmodern turn: re-creating community cultural capital during economic restructurings" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 10542.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/10542
