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The Politics of Pits and the Materiality of Mine Labor: Making Natural Resources in the American West
Author(s) -
Rolston Jessica Smith
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1111/aman.12050
Subject(s) - materiality (auditing) , natural resource , ethnography , politics , natural (archaeology) , mining industry , american west , coal mining , sociology , resource (disambiguation) , political economy , political science , history , anthropology , coal , archaeology , ethnology , law , aesthetics , mining engineering , engineering , computer network , philosophy , computer science
Though workers play a crucial role in the process of procuring natural resources, their role in the anthropology of mining and extraction has continually declined over the past two decades. This gap obscures major industry transformations and their implications for theorizing labor and corporate practice. Ethnographic research in active surface coal mines in the American West suggests that relationships between workers and companies are mediated not just through social institutions and corporate policies but also through the material qualities and histories of the resource itself.