Year of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Forest and Conservation Science

Department or School/College

W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation

Committee Chair

Elizabeth Covelli Metcalf

Commitee Members

Alexander L. Metcalf, Brian C. Chaffin, Sarah J. Halvorson, Daniel Spencer

Keywords

collective memory, community resilience, phenomenology, post-industrial, rural, Superfund

Publisher

University of Montana

Abstract

Post-industrial rural communities across the United States are experiencing economic, social, and environmental changes. Successful transitions depend on the ability to navigate change and maintain a quality of life, or a community’s resilience. These communities do not start with a blank slate, but rather their present and future decision-making, priorities, and planning are influenced by their pasts. Many of these communities retain strong ties to their extractive identities, histories, and landscapes. Often, collective memories, or how people remember and share knowledge and experiences related to their identity, perpetuate narratives and stories about their pasts. This research draws attention to the social dimensions of post-industrial rural community change. The town of Anaconda, Montana— a former smelting town, Superfund site, and an aspiring tourism and recreation destination— provides an instructive case study to examine the role of collective memory in change and transition. This dissertation uses a mixed methods approach including 33 semi-structured interviews with community leaders, a household survey (n = 347), and 22 phenomenological interviews with community members. Centering analysis on the community scale, research found that collective memory impacts community resilience. Collective memory functions differently throughout time— it can act as a galvanizing force to mobilize and aid in recovery or as a constraint to change and innovative thinking. This research also created quantitative collective memory measures which were tested in a model with community resilience. Findings illuminate a complex temporal relationship between the past, present, and future, where the past influences how communities perceive their resilience, which in turn, influences how they plan and hope for the future. Utilizing collective memory as a springboard, investigation of the community’s lived experiences shed light into the complicated nature of contamination cleanup, where these spaces are rich sources of meaning and memory. Community experiences revealed the need for historically informed cleanups in processes such as Superfund and offered practical recommendations for community engagement. Together this dissertation highlights the importance of studying the social dimensions of post-industrial rural communities for more effective decision-making and community engagement.

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© Copyright 2023 Megan Alison Moore