Living in the Paraindustrial
Name
American Anthropologist - 2025 - Walley - Living in the Paraindustrial.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
637.42 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
d6191f8887deccedc334bbcb63dd1bf5
Author(s)
Walley, Christine J
Date Issued
February 1, 2025
Journal
American Anthropologist
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
Walley, Christine J. 2025. “ Living in the Paraindustrial.” American Anthropologist 127: 131–139.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This article is an autoethnographic exploration of life in the former steel mill regionof Southeast Chicago in the ‘Rust Belt’ of the Midwestern United States. It challengesassumptions about deindustrialization that depict one discrete historical stage follow-ing another (i.e., the postindustrial following the industrial) in favor of what is heredefined as the ‘paraindustrial’ (or a setting in which active industry with minimal num-bers of workers exists alongside defunct industry and toxic brownfields). This accountcenters upon the experiences of women who have too often been neglected in researchon deindustrialized regions. In particular, it focuses on the author’s elderly motherArlene who has spent her entire life in Southeast Chicago. From her wheelchair ona backyard porch, Arlene observes this damaged landscape built out of the formerCalumet wetlands. The article considers the relationships of care, centered aroundwomen, that continue to bind together and support the living despite decades ofeconomic and environmental rupture and degradation. Utilizing the concept of a‘palimpsest,’ the piece considers how different historical, ecological, and social reali-ties and temporalities are both layered on top of each other and intermingle to createthe complex landscape found in this former wetland region.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Anthropology
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.28047
