The organising hole in a working class heartland

Helen Masterman-Smith

The organising hole in a working class heartland

Research output: Book chapter/Published conference paper › Conference paper

Abstract

The sociology of class is a contentious field with some proclaiming the death of class as a salient explanatory paradigm in post-industrial societies. Nonetheless, intensifying class inequalities and conflicts within such societies have given new impetus to academic, media and political interest the topic. Though there are signs of renewed attention to the sociology of class in Australia, the field has yet to give close attention to the lived experiences of working class politics today. This paper focusses on recent political organising efforts in a rural working class neighbourhood. The analysis draws on autoethnographic journal entries produced during the author’s intensive three-year involvement with the organisation in multiple capacities as university researcher, local resident, volunteer and trade unionist (Ellis, Adams, and Bochner 2011, 275-6). It considers some possibilities and limitations of developing organising knowledge and skills among today’s working classes.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2019 TASA Conference Proceedings
Subtitle of host publication	Diversity & Urban Growth
Publisher	The Australian Sociological Association
Number of pages	6
Publication status	Published - Nov 2019
Event	2019 TASA Conference: Diversity & Urban Growth - Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia Duration: 25 Nov 2019 → 28 Nov 2019 https://www.tasa.org.au/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=671860&module_id=357514 https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/671860/documents/TASA_2019_Conference_Proceedings_Final_November_13_180977805.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNNCCDT4J&Expires=1578282489&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DTASA_2019_Conference_Proceedings_Final_November_13.pdf&Signature=gpc3uCYfHf2gMGKGthJ3Q1S1U%2Fg%3D (proceedings) https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/671860/documents/TASA_2019_Abstracts_updated_November_25_1768583459.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNNCCDT4J&Expires=1578282842&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DTASA_2019_Abstracts_updated_November_25.pdf&Signature=u0rpDCY9aw7mK3xO3hMx1BJcgwo%3D (book of abstracts)

Conference

Conference	2019 TASA Conference
Country	Australia
City	Sydney
Period	25/11/19 → 28/11/19
Internet address	https://www.tasa.org.au/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=671860&module_id=357514 https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/671860/documents/TASA_2019_Conference_Proceedings_Final_November_13_180977805.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNNCCDT4J&Expires=1578282489&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DTASA_2019_Conference_Proceedings_Final_November_13.pdf&Signature=gpc3uCYfHf2gMGKGthJ3Q1S1U%2Fg%3D (proceedings) https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/671860/documents/TASA_2019_Abstracts_updated_November_25_1768583459.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNNCCDT4J&Expires=1578282842&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DTASA_2019_Abstracts_updated_November_25.pdf&Signature=u0rpDCY9aw7mK3xO3hMx1BJcgwo%3D (book of abstracts)

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Masterman-Smith, H. (2019). The organising hole in a working class heartland. In 2019 TASA Conference Proceedings: Diversity & Urban Growth The Australian Sociological Association.

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keywords = "Community organising, Working class, Rural communitites, Australia",

author = "Helen Masterman-Smith",

year = "2019",

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N2 - The sociology of class is a contentious field with some proclaiming the death of class as a salient explanatory paradigm in post-industrial societies. Nonetheless, intensifying class inequalities and conflicts within such societies have given new impetus to academic, media and political interest the topic. Though there are signs of renewed attention to the sociology of class in Australia, the field has yet to give close attention to the lived experiences of working class politics today. This paper focusses on recent political organising efforts in a rural working class neighbourhood. The analysis draws on autoethnographic journal entries produced during the author’s intensive three-year involvement with the organisation in multiple capacities as university researcher, local resident, volunteer and trade unionist (Ellis, Adams, and Bochner 2011, 275-6). It considers some possibilities and limitations of developing organising knowledge and skills among today’s working classes.

AB - The sociology of class is a contentious field with some proclaiming the death of class as a salient explanatory paradigm in post-industrial societies. Nonetheless, intensifying class inequalities and conflicts within such societies have given new impetus to academic, media and political interest the topic. Though there are signs of renewed attention to the sociology of class in Australia, the field has yet to give close attention to the lived experiences of working class politics today. This paper focusses on recent political organising efforts in a rural working class neighbourhood. The analysis draws on autoethnographic journal entries produced during the author’s intensive three-year involvement with the organisation in multiple capacities as university researcher, local resident, volunteer and trade unionist (Ellis, Adams, and Bochner 2011, 275-6). It considers some possibilities and limitations of developing organising knowledge and skills among today’s working classes.

KW - Community organising

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KW - Rural communitites

KW - Australia

M3 - Conference paper

BT - 2019 TASA Conference Proceedings

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Y2 - 25 November 2019 through 28 November 2019

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