{"id":{"repo_id":"wvu","oai_identifier":"oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1857"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wvu/oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1857","repository":{"repo_id":"wvu","name":"West Virginia University","base_url":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The once and future steel town: The narrative identities of a local community","abstract":"This thesis examines the changing identity of a local community, Weirton, West Virginia, in terms of narratives shared by members of that community. Weirton was home to Weirton Steel, one of the largest steel mills in the United States. Since 1909, when Weirton Steel was founded, the mill provided residents with a narrative. However, this is starting to charge. With Weirton Steel's final closure on the horizon, Weirton will lose the main defining characteristic it has relied on throughout the years. In order for the community to maintain its unity, it must now create a new collective narrative. The research has both a historical and a future orientation. I briefly show how Weirton and Weirton Steel's narratives have been linked since 1909, and how their shared narrative evolved. The research shows that there have been three historical narratives: the model company town narrative, the survival narrative, and the betrayal narrative. It also shows that there are three possible future narratives developing: the ghost town narrative, the bedroom community of Pittsburgh narrative, and the revitalization narrative.","abstract_html":"This thesis examines the changing identity of a local community, Weirton, West Virginia, in terms of narratives shared by members of that community. Weirton was home to Weirton Steel, one of the largest steel mills in the United States. Since 1909, when Weirton Steel was founded, the mill provided residents with a narrative. However, this is starting to charge. With Weirton Steel's final closure on the horizon, Weirton will lose the main defining characteristic it has relied on throughout the years. In order for the community to maintain its unity, it must now create a new collective narrative. The research has both a historical and a future orientation. I briefly show how Weirton and Weirton Steel's narratives have been linked since 1909, and how their shared narrative evolved. The research shows that there have been three historical narratives: the model company town narrative, the survival narrative, and the betrayal narrative. It also shows that there are three possible future narratives developing: the ghost town narrative, the bedroom community of Pittsburgh narrative, and the revitalization narrative.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rine, Jason R."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Sociology and Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lawrence Nichols.","Corey Colyer","Ronald Althouse"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:15:01Z","subjects":["Social structure","Political science","Social research","American history","Geography"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/854"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/854","href":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/854","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.854","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lawrence Nichols.","Corey Colyer","Ronald Althouse"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rine, Jason R."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-01-17T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology and Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social structure","Political science","Social research","American history","Geography"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.854","https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/854"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the changing identity of a local community, Weirton, West Virginia, in terms of narratives shared by members of that community. Weirton was home to Weirton Steel, one of the largest steel mills in the United States. Since 1909, when Weirton Steel was founded, the mill provided residents with a narrative. However, this is starting to charge. With Weirton Steel's final closure on the horizon, Weirton will lose the main defining characteristic it has relied on throughout the years. In order for the community to maintain its unity, it must now create a new collective narrative. The research has both a historical and a future orientation. I briefly show how Weirton and Weirton Steel's narratives have been linked since 1909, and how their shared narrative evolved. The research shows that there have been three historical narratives: the model company town narrative, the survival narrative, and the betrayal narrative. It also shows that there are three possible future narratives developing: the ghost town narrative, the bedroom community of Pittsburgh narrative, and the revitalization narrative."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The once and future steel town: The narrative identities of a local community"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lawrence Nichols.","Corey Colyer","Ronald Althouse"],"dc:creator":["Rine, Jason R."],"dc:date.available":["2019-01-17T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines the changing identity of a local community, Weirton, West Virginia, in terms of narratives shared by members of that community. Weirton was home to Weirton Steel, one of the largest steel mills in the United States. Since 1909, when Weirton Steel was founded, the mill provided residents with a narrative. However, this is starting to charge. With Weirton Steel's final closure on the horizon, Weirton will lose the main defining characteristic it has relied on throughout the years. In order for the community to maintain its unity, it must now create a new collective narrative. The research has both a historical and a future orientation. I briefly show how Weirton and Weirton Steel's narratives have been linked since 1909, and how their shared narrative evolved. The research shows that there have been three historical narratives: the model company town narrative, the survival narrative, and the betrayal narrative. It also shows that there are three possible future narratives developing: the ghost town narrative, the bedroom community of Pittsburgh narrative, and the revitalization narrative."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.854","https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/854"],"dc:subject":["Social structure","Political science","Social research","American history","Geography"],"dc:title":["The once and future steel town: The narrative identities of a local community"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology and Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:15:01Z"}