We Are Not Retarded: Understanding Collective Inaction in a Company Town

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Framing in Environmental Activism

Abstract

The rise of environmental hazards across the globe has led to an increased focus on the dynamics of contaminated communities. While much is known about communities which protest toxic conditions, cases where such mobilization has not occurred are far less frequently studied. Drawing on five months of ethnographic research, this paper examines one such community (La Oroya) in Peru where nearly one hundred years of metal smeltering activity has produced toxic lead levels among a majority of the population. Through an analysis of the discursive frames that residents use to describe local contamination, this paper demonstrates the significance of community ties and moral boundary-making in the town’s collective responses to toxic conditions.

Author

• Pamela Jane Neumann, University of Texas-Austin