Labouring Feminism and Working Class History in North America and Beyond

Labor historians from Europe and North America frequently assert that their discipline is not in a healthy state. Such a picture is a distortion, however, for the world does not stop at the equator: in various regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia the historiography of workers and labor movements has made great strides in the last twenty to thirty years. Labor history's “globalization” calls for a new type of historiography, which transcends old-style labor history from North America and Europe by incorporating its findings in a new globally-orientated approach. This article discusses some of the main issues involved: problems of a general theoretical nature, of conceptualization, multidisciplinarity, and sources. The article also identifies a few research desiderata.

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Review of "Labouring Feminisms and Feminist Working-Class History in North America and Beyond," 29 September-2 October 2005, Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto

Left History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Historical Inquiry and Debate ◽

10.25071/1913-9632.5702 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rhonda L. Hinther

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Working Class ◽

International Studies ◽

University Of Toronto ◽

Working Class History ◽

The University

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“Smokestack Nostalgia,” “Ruin Porn” or Working-Class Obituary: The Role and Meaning of Deindustrial Representation

International Labor and Working-Class History ◽

10.1017/s0147547913000239 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 84 ◽

pp. 23-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Tim Strangleman

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Working Class ◽

Visual Imagery ◽

Industrial Change ◽

Working Class History ◽

Critical Account ◽

Similarities And Differences ◽

Book Format ◽

Post Industrial

AbstractThis article explores some of the visual imagery that has emerged from the process of deindustrialization. It seeks to understand the similarities and differences between post-industrial photography collected in book format in both North America and Europe and the critics of this genre. It makes sense of the value and meaning of this publishing trend and what it says about its market. While it would be easy to dismiss this material as “simply nostalgic,” representing another manifestation of “smokestack nostalgia,” this article suggests that we need a more nuanced account which asks questions about the continuing desire to reflect back and find value in the industrial past. In so doing it makes a contribution to a wider critical account of the role of cultural approaches to interpreting industrial change and working-class history.

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