In the wake of the giant : multinational restructuring and uneven development in a New England community

Author(s)

• Kirsch, Max H.

Bibliographic Information

In the wake of the giant : multinational restructuring and uneven development in a New England community

Max H. Kirsch

（SUNY series in the anthropology of work）

State University of New York Press, c1998

• : pbk

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-142) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Based on anthropological fieldwork in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, In the Wake of the Giant has implications for towns and cities across the country and internationally. It traces the history of the Pittsfield region, the U.S. economy, and the tidal wave of multinational corporate restructurings. Comparing communities undergoing restructuring to newly independent states, Kirsch shows how these communities confront for the first time the challenge of directing their own present and future. The turmoil that develops as a result of these changes, and the means by which individuals, kin-groups and community voluntary organizations react and adapt are central themes of the book.

Table of Contents

List of Tables Acknowledgments Introduction Part I Problems and Issues 1. The Chosen Community The Community and its Setting 2. Community and Context The Growth of the American City 3. Restructuring, Megaindustrialization, and the Expansion of the Service Sector Megaindustrialization and Merger Movements Constructing Consensus in Late Capitalism Part II A New England Community in Crisis 4. The Region and Industry in History Early Industrialization and New England Social Structure Relations of Work and Unemployment The Region after World War II Trade Union Erosion Notes on the Service Sector 5. The Pittsfield Community Early Industry in Pittsfield General Electric and the Growth of a Company Town Industrial Decline and the Issue of Development Community Effects of Economic Restructuring Voluntary Associations, Community Organization, and Corporate Morality The Corporation and the Community 6. Development Strategies Defining Development Development Agencies Development Perspectives The Production of Chaos Development and Ideologies of Economic Growth Native versus Nonnative Views of Development Uneven Development and Relations of Dependency The General Electric Donation Bypasses and Parking Lots Mall Wars Ideology and Community Crisis 7. Uneven Development and Community Response Platics Firms and Uneven Development Kinship, Friendship, and the Entrepreneurial Spirit Firm Ownership and Relations of Work General Electric Plastics Development Efforts and the Plastics Industry Corporate and Community Ideology in the Development of Industry 8. Economic Development and Social Responsibility: A Case Study The Health Crisis in Pittsfield The Cost Accounting Approach Community Response and Corporate Responsibility The Social Construction of Science The Structure of Health Administration in Pittsfield Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA38536266
• ISBN:
  • 0791438279
  • 0791438287
• LCCN: 97030362
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Albany
• Pages/Volumes: xix, 146 p.
• Size: 23 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : HC108.P72
  • DC21 : 330.9744/1
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Pittsfield (Mass.) -- Economic conditions
  • LCSH : General Electric Company
  • LCSH : Downsizing of corporations -- Social aspects -- Massachusetts -- Pittsfield
  • LCSH : Industries -- Social aspects -- Massachusetts -- Pittsfield
  • LCSH : Pittsfield (Mass.) -- Social conditions
  • LCSH : Community development -- Massachusetts -- Pittsfield
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA01211832