Caitrin Lynch. Retirement on the Line: Age, Work, and Value in an American Factory. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2012

Аннотация

Caitrin Lynch’s book Retirement on the Line: Age, Work, and Value in an American Factoryexplores the meanings of work for employees of Vita Needle, a family-ownedstainless steel needle factory on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts. The book isbased on intensive ethnographic research undertaken by the author during 2006–2011. Working on Vita’s shop floor, side by side with factory employees, enabled theauthor to produce a rich, nuanced, and insightful piece of anthropological writingthat not only explores “what work means for people … of conventional retirementage” (3), but also touches upon broader social issues such as aging, productivity, andwork ethic in the contemporary United States. The book also includes a discussion ofthe place of anthropologists in the field that is extensively covered by the media —Vita Needle has been of interest to multiple journalists—and their role in producingand reproducing knowledge.