Dirty Work
ISBN: 9781602580763
Platform/Publisher: Project MUSE / Baylor University Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Chapters; Download: Chapters
Subjects: Quality of work life.; Work; Occupations; Occupational prestige.; Stigma (Social psychology); Work;

Dirty Work profiles a number of occupations that society deems tainted. The volume's vivid, ethnographic reports focus on the communication that helps workers manage the moral, social, and physical "stains" that derive from engaging in such occupations. The creative ways that those who perform such dirty work learn to communicate with each other--and with outsiders--regulate the negative aspects of the work itself and emphasize the positives so that workers can maintain a sense of self-value even while performing devalued occupations.


Shirley K. Drew (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University, Ohio) is Professor of Communication at Pittsburg State University, Kansas.

Melanie B. Mills (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University, Ohio) is Professor of Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University.

Bob M. Gassaway (Ph.D. University of Missouri) is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico.

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