Judith Modell is professor of anthropology, history, and art at Carnegie Mellon University. She is the author of Ruth Benedict and Kinship with Strangers, as well as a number of theoretical and methodological articles.
"In 1986 after three generations grew used to reaping the benefits
of well-paying, unionized jobs, the mills closed. They were razed
soon after that, leaving a vast empty expanse down by the river and
a vast empty hole in the economy of the region. As morale
plummeted, so did the constitution of the town, which brings us to
today's situation: Homestead, a town without steel, struggling for
a new identity and a chance to survive intact. . . . The hundred
-year journey undergone by the people of homestead is grippingly
chronicled in documentary fashion by Judith Modell, who spoke to
several dozen residents in this town of 42 churches. From their
running commentary, she pieces together a saga both heroic and
tragic: The people who built the American way of life suffer the
most from its consequences. . . . There are probably plenty of
other books chronicling the history of the Pittsburgh region and
its famous, now-defunct industry, but A Town Without Steel is
probably one of the few to do so with a personal touch and the
intelligence of an academic source book."repeated quote: "There are
probably plenty of other books chronicling the history of the
Pittsburgh region and its famous, now-defunct industry, but A Town
Without Steel is probably one of the few to do so with a personal
touch and the intelligence of an academic sourcesbook. After
reading it I felt as if I'd taken a whole course at Pitt on the
subject and learned something without paying for all the credits.
With such enlightenment at hand, A Town Without Steel is a
must-read for anyone interested in the history our region and won't
remain unperused on anyone's coffee table for long."--In Pittsburgh
Newsweekly, 12/16/98-- "IN PITTSBURGH"
A Town Without Steel is about what happens about that center of
gravity that has imploded. It's an intimate and revealing portrait
of the myriad ways in which people coped or failed to cope with
working in steel after it collapsed. . . . Complex, nuanced, yet
analytical and grounded in solid historical account, A Town Without
Steel is a model worth considering for anyone seeking to understand
how people convey their sense of past.-- "Journal of Social
History"
Carnegie Mellon University's Judith Modell (writer) and Chalee
Brodsky (photographer) have interesting insights in picking apart
their interviewees' perceptions, contrasting them with others' and
with other aspects of the historical record. And there are some
dramatic views of the change that "deindustrialization" has
brought, along with wry comparisons with earlier studies of
Homestead's rising industrialization, and excellent attention to
racial disparities and problems.-- "Upfront"
It is a wonderful example of how one can use the synthesis of
photographs and interviews to understand the evolution of a
landscape, an environment, and a community. If you want to know why
scrapbooks and field notes are important, read this book.-- "
Journal of Visual Literacy"
Looks at a community centered around the steel industry and its
attempts to cope with massive unemployment of the mid-1980s and its
effects on individuals, families, and the town. Interviews with 45
men and women shed light on the ways in which the mill closing
affected the town across age, gender, and racial lines, and stark
b&w photos depict the social landscape and the town's
residents.-- "Reference & Research Book News"
Modell and Brodsky effectively integrate and anthropological and
photographic perspective to envision a steel community before and
after the mill closing. Their cultural approach illuminates the
pivotal roles of family, church, and neighborhood and highlight
gender and race elements.-- "Pennsylvania History"
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