The once and future steel town: The narrative identities of a local community

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology and Anthropology

Year dc:date.available

2010

Author dc:creator

• Rine, Jason R.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lawrence Nichols.
• Corey Colyer
• Ronald Althouse

• Social structure
• Political science
• Social research
• American history
• Geography

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/854

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1857