Rory Stride
Published: 21 January 2019
Gender, Loss and Memory: The Impact of Deindustrialisation on Women Workers in Scotland, c.1970-2000.
University of Strathclyde
Gender, Loss and Memory: The Impact of Deindustrialisation on Women Workers in Scotland, c.1970-2000.
This research project is an oral history project which will explore the ways that deindustrialisation and the resultant job losses impacted on women workers employed in west central Scotland’s substantial textile and clothing sectors during the period circa 1970 – 2000. A central question that this research will consider is to what extent and in what ways was experience of deindustrialisation in Scotland c.1970-2000 gendered? This research will consider the centrality of employment to working-class women’s construction of their identities in Scotland and explore their experiences of transitioning from industrial to post-industrial employment during the quarter of the twentieth century.
The themes of memory and regeneration is central to this research and will explore how the regeneration agenda of urban settlements, which has promoted the demolition, gentrification and removal of industrial places and spaces, has impacted on women’s memories and reflections on their experiences of industrial employment and the value they assign to their working lives. Furthermore, in considering the theme of memory and remembering, this research will critically examine the representation of working-class women within the dominant, male-centric narrative of Scotland’s industrial heritage and how this shapes our knowledge and interpretation of the industrial past.
First published: 21 January 2019