Class, gender, and the built environment: Deriving social relations from cultural landscapes in Southwest Michigan

Newlyweds, Young Families, and Spinsters: A Consideration of Developmental Cycle in Historical Archaeologies of Gender

“…The real lived experiences of men and women under domesticity, however, were often much more fluid than this rigid understanding would suggest (Wurst, 2003). Residential homelots became physical manifestations of these conceptualized ideals and the arenas in which gender realities were negotiated (see Boserup, 1970;Coontz, 1988;Ember, 1983;Juster, 1996;McMurry, 1988;Osterud, 1991;Rotman, 1995;Rotman and Nassaney, 1997;Stewart-Abernathy, 1986). The second mode of thought, equal rights feminism, was based on the principle of equal political participation.…”

“…The spatial organization of the built environment, features on the landscape, and material culture are effective lenses for discerning gender ideologies and relations from archaeological contexts (e.g., Conkey and Gero, 1991;KryderReid, 1994;Moore, 1996;Rotman, 1995;Rotman and Nassaney, 1997;Savulis, 1992Savulis, , 1998Scott, 1994;Wall, 1991Wall, , 1994Yentsch, 1991). Gero and Conkey (1991, p. 23) stress that By adopting gender as an explicit conceptual and analytical category, by applying gender concepts and categories to familiar and original sets of archaeological data, women are brought into view as active producers, innovators and contextualizers of the very material world by which we know the past.…”

Identities

“…Historical archaeologists are, however, faced with a complex mosaic of racial, ethnic, and class reflections in material culture, which has proven difficult to disentangle. More recently, single-issue theories have been displaced by multifaceted explanations involving race, class, gender, religion, lineage, and representation (Delle, Mrozowski, and Paynter 2000;Mullins 1999;Rotman and Nassaney 1997;Russel 1997;Stine 1990;Wall 1999;Wilkie 2003;Wilkie and Bartoy 2000) and the recognition of contemporary sociopolitical relevance.…”

Planning for resilience: A case study of Kitimat, BC.

“…The planners felt that removing the industry would result in less pollution for the residents. The division is also a spatial metaphor for the plan's intended separation of the town from industrial control, in opposition to the physical plan of many early company towns where the industry remained in view, acting as a reminder to the residents (Lucas 1971 :Ch.l4, Rotman andNassaney 1997). The zoning also created a centralized shopping area and potential centre of interaction.…”

“…Comprehensive planning encouraged the development of a connection to place, with the intention that increased investment in place would result in long-term residency and decreased mobility. The built environment allows for the development of social relations and expressions, allowing people to feel comfortable and stable in their place; thereby increasing the desire to stay (St. John et al 1986, Rotman and Nassaney 1997, Brown 2001. Clarence Perry was a sociologist-planner whose philosophy stressed the importance of intimate face-to-face association for the development of neighbourhoods (Campbell 1990, Bolland and McCallum 2002, Hall 2002:129, Hodge 2003.…”