Juan Carlos Revilla

Collective identities in the age of restructuring: Old and new class, space and community-based identities in six European regions

The significance of collective identities has been widely questioned in this age of individualism. However, the difficulty in sustaining collective identities does not mean that a sense of collective belonging has stopped being important. One of the bases on which collective identity may be sustained is in the belonging to a certain territory, expressed locally or regionally, that may contribute to a feeling of sameness. This article reports on a European research project which studied the impact of restructuring on collective identities in six European (former or actual) industrial regions in Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey and the UK, and analysed more than a hundred biographical interviews in the search for narratives of contemporary identity. The findings suggest collective identities take shape and strength through a complex social process to create a sense of belonging and the articulation of the community us.

A tale of two cities: working class identity, industrial relations and community in declining textile and shoe industries in Spain

This paper focuses on the way conflict and cooperation in industrial and community relations interrelate, and how the social space of practices contribute to the emergence of a common cultural heritage, whether it be a workers’ heritage or a civil heritage. Furthermore, the dynamics of industrial sectors contribute to the changing aspect and character of what will be recalled as heritage. This analysis outlines the role that industrial relations in textile and shoe manufacturing sectors has had for the configuration of cultural heritage in two declining industrial cities in Eastern Spain: Alcoy (textile) and Elda (shoes). Conflictual industrial relations inside factories were and are linked to cooperative social relations between ‘clashing’ industrialists and workers. This occurs in daily life through a strong industrial paternalism, and with a strong presence of company owners in the social activities of these cities. This ’weaves’ the community around the existence of the textile and shoe factories; a social consensus is sustained by an image of capital and labour as citizens and members of the same community. On the other hand, a common civic heritage has been configured through the folklore festivities of Moors and Christians, in which most city citizens participate irrespective of their social position, and in which the role of workers and industrialists has traditionally been very important. From a qualitative approach, this work analyses the dynamics experienced by these cities’ common heritage, and the specific role that workers’ cultural heritage has played in it.

Two Spanish Cities at the Crossroads: Changing Identities in Elda and Alcoy

The dynamics of collective identity are subject to a multiplicity of facets that render understanding both complex and precise. By comparing identity formations in two cities and regions that share many dimensions of both their past and their present, we will explore the significance of work-based collective cultures. We argue that examining differences in sector dynamics, population trends and socio-cultural dimensions are key to understanding the (re)configuration of old and new identities and cultures.

The reconstruction of resilience as a social and collective phenomenon: poverty and coping capacity during the economic crisis

ABSTRACT Resilience has recently acquired an unusual degree of strength in social research. The article discusses the theoretical and historical background of resilience in the literature in terms of its individual and collective dimensions and argues that, contrary to individualistic conceptions, resilience should be considered a social process linked to social context. It then considers sociological approaches that help to reframe its conceptualisation based on the analysis of data from central Spain within the framework of the RESCuE project, which puts resilience into place in the context of the present economic crisis. Through the analysis of rural and urban case studies the research identifies the importance of the availability of individual and group resources when it comes to the development of resilient strategies in difficult circumstances. Equally, integration into community networks facilitates greater diversity in resilient strategies that can contribute to the recovery and survival of households.

Narrar con imágenes: entrevistas fotográficas en un estudio comparado de “resiliencia” social y resistencia ante la crisis

This methodological article analyses the use of the photographic interview in a study of social, cultural and communitarian household strategies of “resilience” during the current economic and social crisis. The research was carried out in the framework of the European project RESCuE with the participation of nine European countries differently affected by the crisis. The text reflects on the contributions and the enrichment that the use of the technique had made possible: more and more diverse ways of telling about practices of resilience (individual, group relationed and communitarian), experiences and interpretations in everyday life and the chance to internationally compare materials and results. Furthermore, the limits and obstacles to the use of the photographic interview in our research are fully analyzed, together with the consideration of the precautions to take during the design and implementation of this technique in a way to avoid the limitations to the potentialities that photo-elicitation offers.