fine & allet. dust

8/10/2019 Fine & Allet. Dust

1/16

DUST

A Study

in

Sociological Miniaturism

Gary lan Fine

Northwestern University

Tim Hallett

Indiana University

Following

lh

e pcrsp

ec

tive of 'socio

lo

gi

ca

l miniaturis

m

proposcd by Stoltc, Fine.

and Cook 200

1

, we examine the signicance of du

st

in soc ial l ife in

or

dcr

to

exa m

ine Lhe reverberations of the micro-featu res of eve ryday life on soc ial structure.

Thr

ou

gh

the examination of thc routine, the uncxamined, and the commonplace, we

hope to ga in some insight on how

lh

e taken-for-granted aspects of livcd cxpcrience

lit in to the large r social order.

Du

st. by vir

lu

e of i ls "smallness, provides a window

through which we can explore

soc

ial structural i

ss

ues using mic

ro

ociological analy

sis. Specifically we examine how dust and techniques for its co

ntr

ol are linkcd to

issues of gendcr, work, pol

it i

ca l cconomy, and nation.

Vast

is

the kingdom

of

dust

Un

li

ke Le

rr

es

trial

kin

gdom

s.

it kn

ows no limits. No

ocean rnarks its boundaries. No mountains hem

it

in . No parallels

oJ

lati tudc and lon

gitude define

it

s boundl

ess

areas, nor

ca

n the (artherm

os

l stars in

lh

e iJ1finitudes of

space serve other than as a twinkling o

ul

posl of a r

eaJ

m as

vas

l as the univcrse

- J. Gordon Ogden,

Tite Kingdom of Dust

Some

lime ago 1

1

was considered for an academic posilion lhat l d id 1

101

u/1imate/y

receive.

Ajier

lhe dust

had

se11led

1

a frien d

on

the f aculty expla

ined

that the

j1 1s

1ificali

on

for

1

he

rejec

tion

was ph.ra

se

d e . ~

suc 1

a min.iaturist

.

Th e

impfi

cati

on

was thai

for

some

o

his c

o/ l

eagues being a

miniaturi

st was incompatible 1vith being a sociologis1.

Following in

1h

e g

rand

tradition

o

he

Fr

end1 l

mpres

sio

11i

sts in which deviants pro11dly

and

defiamly accepc the g

ib

es o

.f

th.eir crili

cs

to defin e

and

de.fend 1he

ms

elv

es

/ embrace the

/abe/ socio l

og

ical minialurist

.

A s a

soc

ial psychologist l Jiave lo ng been fascina1

ed by

1h

e 111icr

o-org

anization

o

everyday life but simulum

eo

usly I have a buming passio11

10

examine how th

ose

mundane charac1eris1ic 1 o social existence

fi1

imo /arger schem e

s.

Prcsidential address delivered at Midwest sociologicnl Socicty, Milwaukce. Wisconsin. April 5th . 2002.

Direct all corresponclence to Gary Alan Fine. Oepanment of Sociology. 18

10

Chicago Avcnue. Northwcstem Univcrsity, Evanston.

llhnois 60208; e-mail: [email protected]

The Sociologi

cn

l Quurterly, Volume

44.

Number J pugcs

J - 15.

Co

pyright 2003 byThe M idwest Sociolo

gk

al

Soc

icty.


2/16

2 THE SO

CIOLOGI

C

AL

QUARTERLY

Vol. 44

/No. 1 2003

A rcccnt article in

th

c A al

Revie

vn

Sociology (S

to

lt c.

Cook. and Fine 2001 pre

scnts propositions behind a socio logical miniaturism. Wc can observe and understand

large social

sys

tems through the

exa

min ation

of

the sma

ll

es t co

nditi

ons of

li fe.

In short.

the anicle attempts to provide a chan er

for

a distinctly sociological psyc hology: a

micro-leve approach that is not depcndent on thc unique characteristics of individual

actors, but links lhe smalles t social

fo r

ces with thc lar

ges

t and the tinies t

in t

eraction

arenas to thc more cxpans

iv

e.

111e power

of

the miniaturist approach is that it p

er

mits rccog

niti

on

of

thc dense tex

ture

of

evcryday lifc. H pcrmits sociologists to recognize th e detailed organi

za

tion

of

substantive domains, and. in its detail ed cxamination of

pro

cess, it pcrmits a more com

pr

ehcnsive

ex

ploration or how va ri ous lcvc ls

of

organiza tional constraint collcctivcly

channcl bchavior. Miniaturism assumcs that processes and products transce nd levels.

Th

e phenomena that apply to o ne lcvel of analysis (c.g

.

the

interp

er

so

nal)

can

also be

observed on

other

levels (e.g., the ins

tituti

onal or interorgaoi

za

ti onal) (

Wh

ite 1992;

Harrin

glon and Fine

2000).

The uniquc and per

so

nally

ex

perienced rca

li t

y for an ind i

vidu

al

ca n credibly be unders

to

od in l ig

ht

of how individuals are

link

cd togeth

er

and

bow they experieoce the small

es

t. mos t micro- r

ea liti

cs o[ wbat Erving Gof(man nicc ly

referred to

as

the 'interaction ordcr.

In

considering tap ies for a presidential addrcss, we

sea

rched

for

a case that would

pe

rmil

an argument for thc study of thc r

eve

rberations of thc micro-fea tu res of evcry

day li fe. Through the cxamination

of th

c routine, thc unexamined, and the common

place

. we hoped to ga in sorn e

pur

cha

se

on how the quotidian fits into thc largcr social

orde

r.

To this end, we se lected the sociology of dust, not a recogni

ze

d sociological subspe

cialty, but one lhat has considerable power in explaining the linkage of personal cxperi

en

ce, in t

eractional co

nditions,

and struc

tu ral

r

ea

lity. We

follow

thc

impulse

of C

Wri

g

ht

Milis

( 1959 sociologica l imagination,

linkin

g the personal and the ins

titu

tional.

Mil is.

ha

ilin

g

from

Waco,T

exas.

might particularly appreciatc an analys is

of

dusl.

Dust is co nnected to the co re o f human ident i t

y.

Wc remark that from dust we are

born and to dust wc rerurn ,

2

and in

enes

s (2:7) obse rve that "

God

fo rmed Aclam of

dust from the ground.'' A sh Wedn

es

day is a metaphorica l testament to the equiva lcnce

of

li

fe

and

du

sl. Ecologicall

y.

in this mctaphor,

we

are part of the world and the

world

is

pan

of

us. For rnuch o f human history, pr ior to the microscope, dust rep rese nt e


3/16

Dust

3

DEFINING DUST

To begin, we rcquire defini tion

s.

and as is

so

o

fl

en the

case.

matters are not

as

simple

as

Lhcy

appear. Dust

as

a verb is a word with diametrically oppos

it

e m

ea

nin

gs.

One

can

" dusr' a

ca

ke with su

ga r.

In

doing

so,

one s

pr

ea

ds particulat

es

whcr

e none h

ad

been

previous ly. In contras. onc can "dust' ' a housc, or perhaps a

ca

k

e,

removing the par ticu

lates. To dust

ca

n m

ea

n lo make dusty or to remove dust.

Our

co

n

ce

rn is l

ess

with the

ve

rb than with the noun.

Thc

first definition

co

m

es

from

Webster s New Collegiate Diction

ary " fine

dr

y pulverized

pa

rticl

es

of matter: 1l1is is

per

haps an adequate pl

ace

to begin. a

lth

ough on c might note finely granulated sugar is

not dust, while little bits of wool would be so

co

nsidered. Bi ts

of

ca rth re

pr

esen the

archetypal form

of

dust. What is m

os

t si

gn if ica

n is that dust is

not

simply a thing

(o

r

se

t

of thing

s

sin

ce

it

is a collective noun). but

it

is in

ves

ted w

ith

social m

ea

nin

g.

ln Peanws.

Ch

ar

l

es

Sc

hultz's

Pi

g Pen,

urr

ound

ed by

a

du st

cloud. is characteri

ze

d by that depi

c-

tion. A s

we

w

ill

emphasi

ze

lhr

oughout this articl

e,

dust belon

gs

to a moral narrativ

e.

Dusl

ca

n

be

a surrogate

for

the abscnce

of

soc ial

co

n

ce

rn .

So rn

e l ibrarics are

repo

rt

ed to determine which books

to

d

eaccession

on thc b

as

is of stock turnover,"

deter

mined

th

ro

ugh the "dust check'';

can

one blow dust

of

f the p

ages

of the book

(Hayn

es

2000. p. l 1 ? In this

case.

thc prcse n

ce

of dust

is

an unobtrusi

ve

m

eas

ure for a

lack of

in t

er

es

t in the

co

ntent

of

the book . Cons

id

er. too, the moral

co

n

ce

rns behind the

pitched ba

tt l

e in Toronto ovc r whether public schools should be cleancd lo a lcvel

of

clea

nliness

defined

as

"ordcrly spotlcssn

ess

or only

to

"ordinary t

idincss ..

The

sc

hool

board, f

ac

ing a

ti

ght budget and h

av

ing r

ece

ntly laid

off four

hundred caretakers, opted

for

thc la

tt

er. As a h

eadlin

c noted. "Spot l

css

Standard Too Ttdy: A

Bit of

Dust Okay by

Sc

hool Board-Perfect is Pricey'' ( Brown

2000,

n.p.), re

mindin

g us

of

the l i

nk

to pol it i

ca

l economy and governmcntal poli

cy.

Toronto youngstcr

s o

r rathcr

Lh

e

ir

parents

might h

ave

b

ee

n relievcd that the board did not

se

lecl Lhe remaining three levels of

cleanlin

ess cas

ual inallen t

ion

," " moderate dinginess: or "

unk

e

mpl

neg lect.''

DUST

NO GENDER

Al

though much h

as

changcd in the way thal women are viewed in W

es

tern socictics, a

wif

e is o flen judged on the impress ion lhal her" home makes. Part of impression m

an

ageme

nl

for

a woman- particularly,

Lh

ough not exclusively. a

wif

is a func

l i

on

of

the

"cleanlin

ess

of h

er

hou

se.

H er skills rub o ff on olhers'

eva

lual ion of her fam il

y.

and

co

nsider

ab

le

pressure-eve

n brutal physical

ab

us m

ay be

brought to

bea

r on a

woman who does not uphold fam

il

y honor in her dust managcrnent, according to her

husbands standard

s.

A moral evaluation of the woman' character in her o/fice

as

hou

se-

w

i f

e i

eas

il y

asce

rtained s

imp

ly by running a finger over a shelf, f

ee

ling and observing

whether dust

wa

s co llec ted.1l1is

assess

ment may be shar

ed

by the woman her

se lf

- wi lh

cl

eanliness

becoming a co mpulsion (Klcinman

fo

rthcomin

g)-as

the moral

of clea

nlin

ess

has b

ee

n in

scrib

c

c in

her

ve

ry

so

ul.

Thal

this is a ma

tt

er of impression man

age

ment is

evident in the fac l Lhal lhe public paces of hom

es

are Lypi

ca

lly more dust-fr

ee

than the

pr

va

te spac

es.

Yet,

co

ncern wi th the

co

nt

rol of dust is a lux

ury,

not crnph

as

i

zed

in ea

r

licr

centuries (prior

to Lh e mid-nineleenth

cenwry)

or in preindus

tr i

al

co

mmuniti

es.


4/16

4

TH ESOC IOL

OGICAL

QUARTERLY Vo l. 44 / No. 1/2003

of

control over the environmcnt.

Thi

s failure is more than a techni

ca

l gl itch; it is a moral

breakdown. Clcanlincss John W

cs

lcy remarkcd, is nex t Lo go

dlin

ess and a belicf

ex

istcd, more evident in the

writings

of ninclcc

nlh-centur

y social r

cfo

rmers

Lh

an today,

thal cl

ea

nlincss has an ex

pl i

ci l virtuous character.

4

Being clean

wa

s e

quiv

alent to being

pur

e.

Benjamn Franklin su

gges

ted thal per

so

nal

cl

ca

nlin

ess

led

to

" human fclic

it

y

(Hoy 1995.

p.

4) .

Dr

. Southwood S

mith

(q uoted in Horsfield l 998, p. 87), an Eng

li

sh

re

former,

wro

t

e:

A cl

ea

n. frcsh ancl wc

ll

-orden:d housc cxerciscs over its inmalcs a moral, no less lhan

a physical inftucnce ancl has 11 dirccl lenclcncy lo make lhe members of

lh

e fami ly

sober, peaccablc and consideraic of lhe fcelin

gs

and happin

ess

of each

ol

her:

whereas a filthy. squalid. unwholesomc dwelling. in which nonc of lhc dcccncics com

mon to society are or can be observcd, lcnds direc1ly lo makc cvery dweller r

ega

rd

less

of

the fce lin

gs

and happin

ess

of cach other.

se

lfi sh and

se

nsual.

Soc

ial wo

rk

ers

ass

umcd that the " filth"" that Lh ey observed in hom

cs-o

ften th

ose of Lh

c

immigrant

or

indi

gent -

ma

rk

cd

depr

av

ity.

The

Encyclopedi of Domeslic Economy of

1844

asserts that cleanl in

ess

is thc '"parent

of

virtues" and adds that clea

nlin

ess

is

an cmblem. if not a charactcrislic. of puri1y o f lhoughl and propricly o f conduc l. l

secms as if il could 01 be assoc ia1ed with vicious pursui1s: so rarely in

lh

c habitua

ll

y

proligale charac1cr. are the ac ti ve and wholcsome habits of cleanliness percep tibl

e.

(H orsficld

1998. p. 88

Th

ese

moral claims are n

ow

suppo

rt

ed by

aca

demic r

esea

rch.

ln

vestigators have

asserted

base

d on data

fr

om the Panel Study of

ln

come Dynamics that there is a

ca

u

sa

l

link between a cle

an

home and thc educational and financia outcom

es

of children, even

controlling for incom

e

parents edu

ca ti

on. outside cleaning help, l

oca

tion

of

res iden

ce

.

or number

of

siblin

gs. In

com

par

i

so

n to chi ldren from

dirty

home

s.

children growing up

in clean homes had more ycars

of

education and higher incom

es

(Sefton

200

1. p.

L;

Dunif

on, Duncan. and

Br

ooks-Gunn

200 1 .

Once the

ge

rm th

eo

ry

of

di

scase

had become ingrained,

dirt

and dust were scen

as

the rcposi tory of th

ese

germ

s. Willi

am A

ll

en in his

1

909

Civics

nd

Hea th called for

courses

in germ sociology."

Nur

sing students were told. " Where there is

dirt

there are

pathoge

ni

c

ge

rm

s

where there

ar

e pathogenic

ger

ms, therc is disease" (Horsfie

ld

1998,

p. 100 . An 1892 hou

se

hold guide ( An Exp

er

ien

ce

d Housewi fe ) warned women that

cvc

ry par

ti

cle of dust is a particle of dan

ge

r.

" Thc dust may be

fr

om gr

ee

n wallpaper

colored with arseni

c.

Even

worse

was the claimed connec

tion

be

twee

n dust and tuber

culosis. The bclicf thal dusl is link

ed

to

dise

asc remains

wi

th us today, reminding us why

we t

oss

out food that h

as

fa

Jl

en on the l

oor

of o

ur

own kitchen

s.

ignoring the

sca

ndalous

co

nditi

ons of th

ose

factori

es

in which

it wa

s firsl

processe

d (Schlosser

200 .

To

da

y

we

ar

e

co

n

ce

rned

ab

out severe a

ll

ergic and

as

thmatic reactions to

du

st

mi

e excreta.

Dusting

pr

oves to be a paradoxi

ca

ll

y

da

ngerous activ

it

y in that

it

often

ag

itates

l he

dust tbat has accumulated, spreading it tbrough the a

ir

.

Du

sting

ca

u

ses

famili

es

to

breathe thi s

disease-

ridden substan

ce

, l

ea

ding to

ca

mpaigns

aga

inst f

ea

th

er du

st

ers

and

broom

s.

But tbe situation grows wor

se.

Objects degenerat

e.

but nothing 'deg rades"


5/16

Dust

5

Sorne

es t ima te th

at dead

skin const itutes 90 percent of hou

se

hold dust (Horsfield 1998,

p. 186). Unntentio nally we swa

ll

ow lh

esc

bits o skin, cann ibals by necessily, though not

by

choice

.Th rough Lhe

co

ur

se

of living and brea thing, we are lhe world.

In

an

analyss o f lhe histo ry of bou

se

clcan ing,

Biting e Dust

Marga rc t H ors

fi

e ld

( 1998,

pp

. xiii- xiv)

argue

s:

Kceping o

ur

homes cl

ca

n invol

ves

a gr

ea

t

dea

l of time and e

ff

ort ;

it

arouscs strong

feel in

gs

and prefercnccs and prej udiccs; it conjures up bizarrc practiccs. deeply

ingrained bclicf

s,

and d

eca

d

es of

powcrful co

nditi

oning

[Alt i

tud

es

about cl

ea

n

ing] providc a kind of social barometer that relec ts the

cha

nging

ro

le of women. the

changing econo

mi

c and social patterns o

t

the l

ast ce

nt

ur

y and a hal f.

Women h

ave

had the res

pon

sibiLity

of prol

ec ling the home from

dusl

and dirl; th

ey

are lhe guard

ia

ns o f domesticity (Hoy 1995. p. xiv. 7). An

adve

rli

se

me

nl

for the 1898

ln t

em

atio

nal H

ea

lU

Exposi tion in

New

York notcd:

''

Women

are

bom

sa

nilarian

s.

a

nd

abhor dirt, da

rkn

ess and disease. The Vi ctoria (British Columbia) Daily Times

wrote

the nex t year: Wo mcn

are

the

rea

J sanita

ri

ans.

and

it ough t lo be the

ir pro

vince

to

keep themselves clean and free from th e d iseases of dirt, to keep the ir

home

s clca n,

to keep tb eir stree ts

el

ca n, lo kee p thei r towns clean ,

(qu

oted in Horsfie ld 1998, p. 162).

111e public spaces of a cty we re

th

e

approp

riale location for men;

th

c hearth was se l

aside

for wom

en (Hoy 1995, p. 16). In thc ni neteenth

ce

nlury s

tre

ets fi lled wth manure

a

nd

sewage co uld be brought into the ho me, particula rly lhrough

lhc

hem of the long

dresses of women who ventured into this male domain. One hou

sc

hold guide wam ed

about st reel

dirt

th at

wa

s lnked to where men expecto r

at

e (Ha lpcnn y and IreJand

1911 ).

Spit

and pol sh, i

ndecd

.

Thi

s assignrnent of women to clea ning diminished th e ro le o f

wom

en. na tu raliz ing

th

eir

do mes

ti

city

(Oak

l

ey

1974).

Barbara .E

hrenrech

and

D e

rdr

e Eng li sh (1978,

pp

.

24-26) suggest Lhat the

ger

m

Lh

eory

pr

ovided the

ba

sis of a crusade aga inst dirt. a chal

lengc tha t

dom

estic

sc

iencc ex perls fe lt was suitable for lhe abilities o f cduca ted womcn,

ke

eping

th

em

Er

o m thc

publi

c sphere. Ehre nreich ( 1995.

p.

26)

co

ncludes:

Housework-as -we-know it was invented around the tum of thc ccntury for tbe

precise purpose of giving middl

e-

class women

so

melhing

Lo

do Enter the domestic

scicn

ce

expe

r ls,

a group

of

la

dies

wh

o,

i f cvcr there

is

a fcminist he

ll

, w

ill

be to

rlur

ed

eterna

ll

y wi th fcath

er

duster

s.

Th

ese

w

crc

womcn who made

ca

recrs out

of

te

llin

g

oth

er

women cy

co

uldnLhave career

s. because

housework

was a

big enough

jo

b in

it

se l f.

Betty Friedan (1963) in The Feminine M tique

ex

tends Lhis a rgumenl by pointing to the

suggcstion of a la t

er

ge ne ration of marke t rescarch

crs

that en

co

ura

ge::

d women to fee l

guilty and anxio us abo

ut

invisible dirt. Bccoming an expert househo ld techn ician, she

would then be ready to purchase a li thc spec ia lized products th at manufacturers had to

offcr.The iovention a

nd

marketing of thc

vac

uum cl

eane

r

th

at 'eats

up

'

du

sl,

sa nd

, gril ,

lint- any kind of dirt ( Hoy 1995. p. 1

52)

exe mplifies this

process. 111

e

vac

uum cleaner

was

part

ia

ll

y r

espon

sible for the decline o f a ma

rk

et for maids (simultan

eo

us with

the

e nd of immigra tion) a t least umil Lhe ri

se

of dual-ca reer families a nd increased immigra-


6/16

6

THE

SOC

IO L

OG

I

CA

L

QUART

E

R

Y

Vo

l

44/No

1 2003

This feminisl a rgume

nl

has its e ff

ec

ls as women ar e now

se

lf-conscious

aboul

claim

ing lh

al

lh

ey are competent

ho usecl

ea

ner

s.

and low- paid se

rvicc

worke rs are on

ce

again

available

to

clean the homes

of

e lites.

Some

wives, such as

our

current First Lad

y,

clairn

10 find " bouse

clea

ning a form of re laxa tion (Bl

owe

n 2001,

p. 04

).

persuading

them

se lves

lhat

their

seco

nd shifl

''

(H ochschild 1989)

is

truly leisure.

Du

sling is

acceptab

le

so

lo ng as it

is

se lf

-aclu

a

li

zing Horsfie ld (1998, p. 1)

remarks

lhal her inf

or

manIs

ro

u

tin ely

denigrated

their ho use keeping abililie : 1 hardly ever clean-you should see my

place "' o r "You wan t to know som

el

hing

abo

ul clea ning? Dont come 10 my house."

One woman claimcd , " lf l don r see d irl , it

l

oesn' t bother me

So

J just don'l l

oo

k'"

( Hoy 1995, p. J80). Being a poo r cleaner may now be more se lf-c nhancing

lhan

being a

goo

d o ne, a recognilio n of recent writers

of

ho usehold h elp manual

s: Is

Th

ere

Life

fter

House1Vo

rk

? (Aslett 1992), The Messies Ma al: The Procras1ina1or s C uide 1 Good

Housekeeping (Fe llo n 1981), Polish Your F11mit11re wi1h Pamy Hose (G r

ee

n 1995

).

The I

Hate

1

Housekeep B

ook

(B

racken l962), o r Confessions

o

a

Organized H

omemaker

(Scho

fi

eld 1994).

Co

nte

mp

o

rar

y n

ove

ls tha t include compulsive cleaners oh en sugg

est

that this neu

ro

tic

urge lo

du

st re

l ec

ls sexual

fri

gidily (Ho rsfeld

19

98,

p.

16). 1n

Judith

Summers

(1988) novel /, Gloria

Go

ld , th e ep onymous hero ine is transformed thro ugh a torricl

love affair from compulsive house

ke

cpe r whose

hom

e is draped in

dust

sh

eets

Lo a

woman

who

rej

ec

ts impassio ned housecleaning. Simone de Bea uvoir (1953, p. 452) con

sidered that meticulo us hou

sewo

rk o ffered wornen a ftight from

them

e lves. She wrilcs,

"

Thi

s flighl may o ften ha ve a sex ual tinge Love

of

the l esh and its an imality is con

ducive to loleratio n

of

human odour. dirt, and

eve

n vermin."

Cl

ea

rl

y,

ho useho ld

du

st is a m

ora

l ma

ll

cr, and it is

one

in which mal

es

and

fema les

have diffe rcnl roles.

5

Th

e abse n

ce

of

dust

r

evea

ls the efficiency and femininity

of

women. Me n, the workers, a re s

upp

osed to be dusl

y:

children. the players, are s

uppose

d

lo be dusty;

women

are supp

ose

d lo domes ticate

lh

eir public parlicipation and cleanse

1be ir famil ies.

It is

through con trol

of lh

ese liny specks

of

morality thal women demon

s

tr

a te

the

successf

ul

performan

ce

of thei r ge nder roles. H

oweve

r. this social psychologi

ca l perspective is changin

g,

rev

ea

ling a crack in lhe

culture

of clean liness.

SuEllen

Hoy

suggcsls lhal the l950s may have been thc pinnacle

of

this cl

ea

nly c

ultur

e: the changes

in women's

ro

le in the

eco

norny have

becn

rnirrored in our altitudes t

owa

rd dirt

and

grime: making n

atura

l, aulhc

nt

ic d ust culturally l

eg

itima

re.

DUST NO POLITIC L ECONOMY

Soc

io l

og

ist

Everetl

Hughes (197 1, pp. 343- 345) spoke

of

a class

of

labo r lhat he

ca ll

ed

"dirly work.'" Laboring places and thc

ir occ

upants

are

koown by the

cood

itions (both

ph

ysica l and m

ora

l)

of

lhe

ir

to il. By this Hughes was no t r

efe

rring entire ly to those

workers

who gel du

sty (han

gmcn and

butche rs a l

so

e ngage

in

dirty work), but th

ose

who

labor

in grime are

often st

igmati

ze

d by thal association, even though those do ing clean

work depend on thesc dirly worke r

s.

White co

ll

ars do n

ot ge

l

du

st

y;

bluc collars

and

blue j

ea

ns

are

co

l

ore

d

to

bide

du

st. Dusl is link

ed to

social cl ass. Jnd

ee

d, one

opera

tional defin itioo of being a manuaJ

laborer is

whelher one has dirt

und

e r o ne's fingcr


7/16

ust

7

The farm economy depends on

din

. or course, except agricullu ral peoplc call it soil

(personal communication, Margie Towery 2003). But al t itudes toward dirt and dust

extend beyond this and can be co nstructed as an indicator

of

authenticity and hon

or

wi th in a rural

co

ntext. Dirt is a sure sigo

of

plain living, hon

es

t toil, and physical

fitness., (Hoy 1995, p. 22). Mark Twain ([

1883

1 1980. p. 29), perhaps satirically, explain

ed

,

l11

ere was nutritiousness in the mud , and a man th at drunk Mississippi water

co

uld

gro

w

co

rn in

hi

s stomach if he wanted to.

Jusi as the South was permanently transformcd, po litica lly as we

ll

as cconomica ll

y.

by air conditioning the Great Plains was transformed by irriga tion . l rrigation practices

diminished the likelihood or a rcpetition of the farm crisis

of

the l 93Us- the Dust

Bowl -

but

fa rming practiccs, including unreg

ul

ated grazing and intensive agriculturc in

drought-prone areas, allow us to see that this meteorological event emerged from deci

sions invol

vi

ng the survival needs of individual fami

li

es and the encouragement

of

larger

institution

s

includ ing the fed

era

l government. As Ama to (2000, p. 7) pul it , Each hand

ful of dust judged a people's manage ment of its land.

Dust ca rne to characte

ri

ze the l930s, and was so dramatic that tlle term was used

Joosely ( Bonn ifield 1979;Worste r 1979). The Joads, who were Okies heading

to

Ca li fo r

nia fro m

Okl

aho ma in John Steinbeck's The Grapes ofWrath. were strictly spea king not

Dust Bowl Re ugees. Thc Dust Bowl , admittedly an imprecise geographical reg ion.

was the

area

of the western prairie, covcring southwestem Kansas. the

Oklahoma

strip.

the panhandle o f Texas. nor thw

es

tcrn New Mexico, and southw

es

tern Col

ora

do. Esti

mates of its area were as

hi

gh as 150,000 square miles. Ye t. most of the dust bowl

.

ni

grants

so

prominent th roughout the J

930s-a

nd used for political ends by the lcft

(Kl ein l 980:

Ap

tho rp 1990)- were no t fro m this r

eg

ion.

No

r

were

th

ey de

stitute

din

farmers .

(G

rego ry 1989), even though a sub tantial population of the area did migrate

out duriog the

Du

st Bowl years

of 19

31-

1939. Th

e image of dust in acco

unt

s

of

prairie

poverty a nd depopulation are evident in the titles

of

scho larly analyses. such as

Root

ed

in ust (R iney-Kehrberg 1994) and Empire o Dust (Jon

es

1987). E ven though the

phrases '

du

st bowl

' '

and

du

sl bowl rc fugees

.

did not ade

qu

ately capture the empiricaJ

rea lity of migrant or indigenous cul ture (

Dunb

ar-Ortiz 1994; We ller 1995), they reso

nated as

po

litica lly

pot

ent slogaos for ga in ing sympalhy among Americans from outside

the region.

Not only agricultura] environme

nt

s are link

ed

to tlle imagc (and

the obd

urate rca l

ity) o f

du

st.

Indu

strial work

is

involved as we

ll.

Many industri al domains

(e

.g., l

umber

,

mining) involve the transformation of na tural objccts into dust as a cent ral fea ture of

the technology. Thc dec ision of individual entreprcneurs

to

locate production in ce

nt r

al

ized geographica l zones focuses the production and distribu tion of dust Thc prescncc of

du

st in workplaces bo th leads to. and is perceived to lead t

o

dis

ease

and impove

ri

shcd

working conditions as we ll as poor living conditions in sur rounding areas

(A

ndrews

1996). t is no surprise that

th

e growth of industrial socie ty was linked to the be lief that

dust was the cause of illncss

and

that

co

llec tive action had to a ddress th is insidious men

ace (Ama to 2000, p. 9).

We find bl ack lung among coal miners (Judkins L 79; Derickson 1998), brown lung

among textile workers (G uarasci 1986; Bo tsch 1993). and two types o f white lung among

asbestos workers and bakers. ln D eadly u

st

David Rosner and

Ge

rald Markow

it

z


8/16

8 THE SOCI

OLOGIC L

QUARTERLY Vol / No 1/2003

politics and

so

cia l

mo

ve me

nt

s. Even children, particularly poor

children

, are th reatened

by dust, such as

that

fro m lead

pa

int in d eteriorating a nd d ilapidated housing a nd schools

(Wessel and Dominski 1977).

Dust

does not affect o nly those wo rkers cl

oses

t

Lo it

s

prod

uction. t has been esti

maLed

that

forty-t

hr

ee

million

ton

s o f

du

st

se

ttle

ove

r the

United

Sta

t

es

every

y

r -

a lth

ough

how thi s fig

ur

e was a rrived a t is n

ot descr

i

bed

and

pr

esum a

bl

y is implica ted in

the cons truc tion

o

statis

ti

cs so we ll described by Joel Besl (2001) in

D

amned i

es a

nd

Statistics

Of

tb

e forty-three million

tons.

twelve million tons a

re

sa id to be

th

e res ult

of

human

ac

tivit ies. Industri a l areas m

ay

rece ive as many as two hundred

ton

s of

dust

per

s

qu

a re mi le

eac

h mo nlh ,

acco

rding

to

a statistic

put

forth

by

an unnamed claimsmaker

citcd by

an unn

amed journalist in the Montreal Gazelle So

rn

e cities carry o n

int

ensive

ca

mpaigns

to

reduce he a

mounl

of ind ustri al dust in Lhe

area,

al tho ugh a li that dust

must go so

rn

e place, whe re pr

es

umably it can escape. Further, dusts differ in size, color,

and h

ea

lth effects, depending on the

type o[

i

ndu

stry in the ar

ea

and the technological

proc

csses used. Dust might almos t be said Lo have a vintage.

Th

e du sts o f Rive r Rou

ge

di ffe r fro m th

ose

of H ibbing a nd

Ga

ry, each of which differ from the du sts o f Auschwitz.

Dusts are

soc

ia lly, poli ti

ca

lly, and e

conom

ically o rganized with different meanings. As

Amato (2000, p. 8)

pun

ge ntl y no tes, In the clus ts of Au schwitz's crematoria historians

d eLect a diffe re nt mo ral

acc

usation from the one

th

ey find in

th

e radioac tive dusts of

Cherno by l.

Du t does not necessarily remain where it originales.

Students

of environmental

racism no te Lhat

ce

rtain locales o r ne ighborhoods may be r

ec

ipie nts o f

pollution.

as

m

arket

forces lowcr and raise ho using prices as a funct ion of

th

e prese nce or absence of

env

ironm

e

nt

al co

nt

amina tio n.

In th

e

word

s

of

Mand Is

aa

cs (1999;

see

a lso

Giam

o

1992), dust is

pa

rt of

th

e visua l vocabulary o f pove rty.

In

addit io n,

th

e dependence of

impove rished or industrial ne ighborhoods pe

rmit

these areas to be used as dumping

grounds for dust ,

dirt

, and

ot

her fo rms o f foulness, with Hispanics and African-Ame ricans

ca ll ing fo r environmental justice

in

mitig

aLin

g these

unpl

easant

and

tox ic cond itions

(B

ulla rd 1990).

Some citics o r reg io ns are known for the ir industrial dirt and grime: gritty p laces.

fn the United StaLes,

Lhi

s l

ab e

l was

attac

hed to

b

e no rth e rn cilies o f the rust be lt, such

as Pittsb

ur

gh. a ltho ugh with

h

e decline

of

U.S. heavy industry, as a fu nc tion

of

changes

in the gl

oba

l

cco

nom

y,

so

rne

of

th

ese

a reas, such as L

ow

e

ll

,

Ma

ss

achuse

tt

s,

h

ave

b

ee

n

transformed

in t

o Lo urist sil

es

. In E ngland , Newcas

tl

e

wa

s

known

as such an

indu

strial

city.

111

e expr

ess

ion for redundant

be

hav ior was bringing coa ls to Newscastle, but

Newcastle is now ''

i

.

On

e jou rna lisLnoted,

Ncwcastle

wa

s the eng

in

c of the Indust r

ia

l Rcvolution: ' re

fir

st

sLeam

turbine and

the

fir

st stcam train carne from its workshops. But nonc of this

in

spired tourists to

vi

sita

place alwa

ys

perceivcd as grimy with coal dust. Until rccently. anyway. With its

rev ita

li

zed rive rside ba rs and restaurants, its vivacious art scen

e,

elegant architec lu re

a

nd

underrated antiquitie

s.

Ncwcastle has bccome an urban ch ic outpost of Cool

Britannia (Rober ts

200

1.

p.

IK

.

Wh ile communiLies such as N ewcastle bene fit from de industri a l

tran

sforma tion

s,

Third


9/16

u

st

9

Th

e po liti

ca

l will or power is o ftcn not present to

pr

ot

ec

t these areas from the migra

ti

o n of particula tes. These po litical actors have difficulty in successfully n

cgo

tia ting with

othcr

ac

tors. Polluted

du

st. like na tural volcanic ash, may

tl

oa t from one region to another,

as

in the case of

ac

id rain o r

radio

ac

ti

ve plum

es

af

te

r abovc-g

round

nucl

ea

r testin

g. Th

e

choices o f

th

e re

pr

ese

nta tiv

cs

of

on

e politi

ca

l e ntity in d

ea

ling with industri al detritus

a

ffcc

ts the life c

hance

s o f th

ose

living dowawind . unless

so rn

e po

li

tica l acco

mm

oda

ti

o ns

can be made.

n

this sense, a minia turist can study issues o f the core and peri

ph

ery o f the

wo rld system thro ugh the smallest, m

os

t secmingly

unimp

ortant phenome non ust

and its social acto rs.

DUST ND N TION LISM

Of

a li the images on which to base a ense of na tional o r c

ultur

al cha r

ac

te r. dust

wo

uld

see

m

to

be one

of

th

e more p

ec

uliar. Ye

t.

people a re known for their a

ltitud

es toward

dust, and this is taken- whichever way o ne

pr

cfcr

s

to ref

icc

t their moral o

rd

er. Re

li

gious rituals amo ng Orth

odox Je

wi

sh wo men

pr

eparing thcir hom

es fo

r Passover

are

matched by the elabora te p

os

t c

ommuni

on rituals o f Catho lic pri ests in

clea

ring up the

crumbs

of

the

Eu

charist th a t may have fa llen on the al

ta r

. Sorne pa rishioners be

li

eve

tha t communio n dust has miracu l

ou

s healing powe

r.

A ny sp

cc

k of matter out of place in

a Je

wi

sh home o r

Ca

tho

li

c chu rch could

de

file o r consecra te.

Th

c

Dutch

h

ave

l

on

g b

ee

n known for the impo rtance of

clea

nliness in the

ir culture.

As

ea rl

y as the seve

ntee

nth

ce

ntury the

Dutch

penchant for

clea

nlincss was no ted.

transforming " houses" into ''ho mes ( Hoy 1995. p. 16). Even keeping the public side

walk in front of the hou

se

cl

ea

n wa a civic

dut

y e nfo r

ce

d by law. Sh

oes

we re removed

inside homes, and smo king and s

pittin

g were no t permitted .

Th

e e ight

ee

nth

centur

y

writcr

Tho mas Nuge

nt

described the Dutch as " pc

rfec

t slaves to

clea

nlincss'' (

qu

o tcd in

Horsfield 1998, p. 203). Wito ld Rybczyn

sk

i ( 1986, p. 65) remarks in

/ lome: A Short

Hi

s-

tory

o

an Id

ea that

the Dutch wo

rd

for clean is schoon which al

so

indi

ca

es purity and

beauty. For the Dutch,

clca

nliness is linked to the acsthe tic.

Hi

sto rian Simon Sch ama ( l987, p. 375) goes deeper

in

suggesting

that

the

Dut

ch used

cl

eanliness to se t themse lves apart fro m their d irty a nd ignoran ne ighbors. To be cl

ea

n

was a fo rm of patriotism, and it reB

ec

ted a militan d

efe

n e o f na

tio

n.

Th

e Dutch poe t

Pie te r van Godewijck (quoted in

Hor

s

fi

eld 1998, p. 204) has o ne o f his female charactcrs

assert:

M y brush is rny sword ; my broom my wcapon

Sleep 1know not nor any repose

No labour is oo heavy; no ca re Loo great

To make evcryth ing s

hin

e and spo ess ly nca t

Th at o

th

ers n

ee

d

not

embrace the

Dut

ch

vi

ew of

se

lf is evide

nt

in the re marks o f

Simone de B

ca

uvoir (1953. p. 452) who, in attacking the

Dut

ch,

cl

aimed

th

at purila

ni

ca

l

civiliza

ti

ons o

pp

ose an id

ea

of

clea

nlin

ess

to the joys o f the

fles

h and no ted th al thc

Me

di t

c

rr

an

ca

n Midi

li

ves in a stale o f j

oyo

us fillh .

Th

e

Dutch

are

not

alo ne in this

pr

coccupatio n

wi

th dirt and dus

t.

So

rn

e a rgue th at


10/16

10 THE

SOC

I

OLOG

I

CAL

QUARTERLY

Vol 44 /

No. 'l /2003

Ame ricans to

be

dirty and

di

sg usting, a Third Wo rld na tion .

On

e

English

travelcr.

Willia m Faux, dcsc

ribed

Midwes te

rncrs

in 18

19

, as 'fi

lth

y,

bord

e ring 0

the b

cast

ly

(quo ted in H oy 1995, p. 7). Urbaniza tion cl

ea

rly contributcd lo a dramatic changc,

but

so did the Puritan and Pro t

es

ta

nt

tradilio n of America and the incrcas ing middle-class

c

hara

cle r

of Amer

ic

an

life.

On

ce

Am

c

ri

ca

ns b

eca

me

co

n

ve

rt

to

the

elhos

of cl

ea

nlincss.

certainl y by

thc

l

ate

ninet

cc nlh

ce

ntury.

th

ey

e mbrace d it with a pass io n, as

part

of

thc

civilizing proc

ess

so wc

ll

described by Norbert E lias ( 939] 1978). Dust becamc an

c nemy o f

the goo

d life. C lcanlin

ess

was

see

n as

Amc

ri

cas

..grea t

cs

t

vi rtue:

and

soc

ia l

workcrs

in

s

tru

ctc d

immi

g rnnts

fr

o m so uthc rn and

eas

tcrn Europc, who we re considered

pa rti cul arly dirty and in nccd o f ins truction, tha t clca

nline

ss was a

part

of Lh t: American

wa y o f liJe (Hoy 1995, p. 88). The masscs were secn as not only huddlcd. hut un washed.

justas

Ang

lo-Americans the m

se

lv

es had once

bcen pe rccivcd. To becomc an American

is Lo be socializcd

in t

o socic tal standa rd s for d ea ling wit h dust and

dirt

.

Allh

ough the

claims are hea lth -rclatcd ,

th

ey ha ve jusi as much to do with aesthe tics. Part of

th

e rebel

lion of the

I

960s

wa

s the

willingncss

of

young

peo

pl

c to

flaunt their dirt. Thu

s, one o r th e

ce ntral lhe m

es

of

th

e anack o n

th

e countc r cu lture was

lo

cmphasize thcir filth. Hippi

es

needcd to bathc. As Vi ce Preside

nt

Spiro A gncw o nce rc

mark

e d abo ul youthful ra di

cals: " would hope the wayward rew will casi off the blankct of filth and

co

nfusion

and re

turn to

the

pur

suit a

nd

. in

tim

e,

to th

e rcali

za tion

of th c A me

rican

ideal '

(quoted

in Cal ho un 1970, r P

81-82). Part

of

th

e countc r of th is culture

was

its all itude toward

din

.

Othc r gro ups linked lo dus t

hav

e a llc mpt ed

to

chan ge

that

image. A journalis t

re ports

that

L

eo

n Bcar, the chic f o f thc

Utah-based Goshut

c tri be,

pi

ck

ed

up so mc of

Lh

c cha

lk

y so

il

of thc wes tern Utah descrt and crushcd

it

gently

in

to his pa

lm

. A light pufr

fr

om

hi

s lips and iL

vini

shcd

in

to th c uir. leaving a ghostly

powder covcring his hand , nwt \ why they ca ll us Lhc Goshutcs.' he said with a sm ilc.

O

ur namc means 'd usty people. bccause

my

people always had

1hi

s dust on thcm

when

th

cy roamcd the deserl country.' Bear is 01co

nt

cnL to allow his cconomica lly

di

sad va ntagcd 124-mcmbcr band Lo languish in

th

c dusl any longer. As chie(. he

wants th c rn 10 havc computcrs, bctter cducllion. a heallh cl

ini

c. a dccenl water

sy tem. ncw homes and jobs. (quoLcd in Mecrsrnan 2000, p. 1A)

Bea r 's so lution for his dusty tri be is to allow powc r co mpanies to s

tor

e nu clea r wa s tc on

trib

a l l

ands,

p

cr

mittin

g

th

c m

to

l

ca

d

clean

livcs likc thc ir fe

ll

ow Am

e

ri

ca

n citi

ze

n

s,

s

ub

s tituting visible dust for radioactivc particlcs.

TI1

c

associa

tion be

twee

n

dark

c

r-

s

kinncd

p

eop

lc a

nd du

sl is w

id

e ly fo

und

a mo ng

E uro-American culture::.. part o ( ' thc Great C lean-U p of th e pa st ccntury (Amalo

2000, p. 160).

TI1i

s view is c nshrined in the innocc nt , if raciali st. question asked by yo un g

white childre n. who o ftc n c mbarrass the ir parcnts by asking why a black stran

gcr

is so

'

dirt

y. ' Race a nd dust seem so implica tc in clea n.. cu ltur

es

that the conncction appears

to be [ully natural , and is onc that is cas il y tra nsfc rrcd to

nation

s. Dispa lch

es

frorn the

Third Wo rld implicate dus t as a ce ntra l fcat ure of the cx iste nce o f tbe imrovc

ri

shed- an

o ricntalism of thc minu

sc

ulc. Cons

id

c r:

On 1he s1ccp llank of a slccping volcano. 54-ycar old Aurn

li

o Miquanor hocs barcfooL


11/16

ust

Shazia Bibi

sa

l wilh her fr iend > in a

coo

l

dim room

,

he

r t

oes

wriggl

ing in

dust as

brow

n a

nd fin

e

as

cocoa. Her br

ow

furrowing in

co

n

ce

ntration.

th

e

vi llage

girl spat

on her slalc and wiped

il clca

n wi th her white slrnw

l.

( Da hl bu rg 1994. p. 1)

The

rc is

pr

ecio

us liulc 10 s mile

al about

lifc in

M i ~ i ~ i

l ic

fine dusl hl

ows

in swirls

ar o

und

your hea d

yo

u

e r o s ~ th

c railway linc O nly this is nol dus l. is dried

human excrcment. (Valle ly

1998,

p.

24

is

not that the e nv

iro

nments of Mexico. Pakistan. a

nd

Zambia

are nol dus

t

y, but

1h

a1

dust is taken

as

a fu

nd

ame ntal metaphor- a

powerfu

l mctonymy- for the back

wa rd co nditions of lifc. Core

natio

ns in thc

wor

ld

eco

nomy are mo

st

concerned about

clea nliness, while

pe

riphcry nation

s.

often rural. are scen

as

awash in dust.

THE

DUSTY D YS OF SEPTEMBER

11

t is ir

onic that

this analysis of

du

st occurs aga insl the

backdrop

of Seplem be r l

llh

and

thc an

lhra

x au acks.

Our

rcco ll

ec

ti

o ns of

Lh

ese hard and har h hours are linkcd 10

Lh

e

minisc

ul

c.

Co ll

ccLve memories of bo lh

of

these thrcaLs are as

oc

iated wi th tbc im

agery

of tlusl. The destruction of

Lhe

World Trade Cc ntcr produccd cnonn ous clo uds of dust,

leading to substanLial pulmonary illnesscs amo ng rescuc workers and what has been

callcd WTC Syndromc (France 200 l , p. 10). Al the moment of

des

truction a

fire fighter reported, apoca lyp tica lly,

Thc

sky turncd so black tha t it fe lL li ke we were in

he

ll

(Stcin, Neusncr, Hobson, and Lev ine 200 I, p. 58).

Oth

ers describcd the dust as

mak ing lhe sunny day

as

black as nigh l. A ft

cr

the first towe r co

ll

apsed,

a

fircball

zi

ppcd down

Broadway

,

covcr

ing the ar

ea

in thick white du

sl

a

nd

dccp

darkness. '

t

was

li ke swimming through black smokc,' sa id onc officer from thc Ncw York Shcrirrs

Department

(Gc

lz 2001). Th l blanke ting

of du

sl served lo symb o lizc the magnitudc of

the all

ac

k. The dust tha t

covc

red Lowcr Manhatla n se rved as an imagc

o

des

tr

uction

and, thcn,

of

hope. T c

ew York Times (

Barry 2001. p. B9)

reponed:

In Low cr Manhallan. wa

ll

s a nd windows carry in

sc

riplions from rescuc workers. rcs

idents.

passc

rs-by and l

ovcd

o

ne

s uf those lost in the co

llapse of

thc twin towers.

These missives. finding a use. at least. fur thc thi ck coats of dust and ash.

serve

as tes

taments

to

a

dceply

woun ded

bu

t still rcsolute populace Perhaps a fo rmal memo-

rial will be built

so

meday.

For

now.

ther

c

Me

thc walls

and

windows

of

Lowe r

Manbau

a n. where thou

sand

uf mcssages h

avc

hc cn in

scr

ibcd in tbe

gray

sn

ow

of

des

truc

tion

that fe

ll two weeks

ago today.

The

du

st is a melap hor of destruction and simullancously

ar

rc

so

lutencss and

in

spira

tio n.

Th

ose

ma

ssive t

owc

rs

became

n

ot

hing more than piles

of

du st

and

debris. ycl it was

mea ningful dust and d

ebr

is. We lookcd a t the limits

of thc

visual to find the s

tr

e nglh

of

o

ur

social ordcr.

Within wccks, the potcncy

of du

st emerged again in lhe anthrax sc

ar

e. Dust , prcvi

ou

sly taken for gran ted, beca

me

not on ly the conscquence of tlcstruc

ti

on, bul destruction

itself.

6

Peop

lc no

ti

cing

powder

now

saw

lh

emse

lvcs

under

atlack.

As

thc

Washingt

o

st

(Powe ll an d Ru ssakoff 200 1. p. A8) repo rted aboul life in thc post o ffic c:


12/16

12 TH E SOCIOLOG ICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 44/ No. 1/2003

ofce in M a

nh

al lan.

111

.:: wo

rk

ers wore no glovcs and no du

st

masks until a wce k ago.

Al

the end of the day. thcy we re direetcd to use compressed a

ir

to clean out the

machines scnding more dust swirlin

g.

Thercs

ju

si dust cvcrywhere. You c

an

' l tell

dust or anthrax said Rutigliano . . . We havc lel lers

lh

al completely. and

therc's no t

es

t t o te

ll

you whal

yo

ure brcathing

.

'

Dust is th e vecto r

tbrou

gh which rnys te rious rnurde r occ

ur

s. and a li forrns o f

du

st

become uspect. A t this momc nt

of

pe rso na l and

co ll

ective fea r and anxic ty, the sy

mbol

of

dusl

becomes

thc symb ol o f ho pe, d

es

truction, h

os

tilit and me mo ry.

THE SO IOLOGY OF DUST

In

this

inqui

ry we ha ve a llc mpted 10 de mo ns

tr

a te tha t du stev en du sl- is l

inkcd

10

conseq u

en

tial soc io logica l concerns. Dust, like al l named dorna ins. is socia

ll

y si tu a1ed

and

cu llurally m

ea

ningful.

Eac

h l

eve

o f

th

e " inlinite gra nula ri1y

of

thin

gs h

as meanin

g

{

Am

a lo 2000, p. 177). Dusl, once recognized, becom

es

a cultura l ma rke r and is used to

crea te social ordcr. lf dusl seems, at first glance, 10 be me re na tural detritus, human

actors comfortably and cas ily give its prcsence a wide array of inte rpre ta tions. Dus t

comes

to s

tand

for divisio ns o f ge ndcr, class, occupation,

and

na tion. In a world in which

the small is becoming increasingly visible {Amalo 2000). the

rea

lm o f du s t st ands for

o the r microscopic worlds: bacte ria. radioactivity nanotec hno logy. and DNA codes.

TI1is inves tigation bcgan by di

sc

ussing the approach to social psychology Iabe led

socio logical minia turism." is to this

co

ncept

that

we re turn. The study o f dus t prc

se

nt

s a

dramatic

in

sta

n

ce

o f

th

e way th at

soc

ia l systcms

ca

n be re

l

ec

ted a nd or

ga

ni

ze

d

th r

o ugh specks a nd motes.

The

mall

can

s

erv

e as a markcr for the large. Howevcr ,

socio

logi

ca

l minia turism ex le nds b

eyo

nd thc rea lity

that

socia l sys tems

ca

n invcst tiny

things with mea ning. t suggests

th

a t it is

throu

g h

th

e inte ractions o f individua ls a nd

the ir g

roup

s 1hat the doings o f socia l systc ms a re

in

sc rib

ed.

He re. too. the s

tudy

o f

du

s t

can

pro

vide a g uide. l ssues o f

co

ntrol o f dusl are ha ndled wi1hin fa mili cs. within work-

places,

and

by legisla ti

ve

co

mmitt

ees.

111

e

presencc

of

du

s t b

cco

m

cs

a micro

po

litica l

issu

e ddresse

d , used for individua l or co ll

ec

tive c nd s. o r igno red. To this e

nd

,

gro

ups

mobilize or divide.

allempti

ng to persuade o thers with more p

owe

r

ort

o e nact social

co

n

trol a mong thosc

und

e r the ir control. Dust , a fter a ll , is not s imply some lhing tha t happcns.

It is so melhing with which groups mus t dea l. As groups dea l with dust, they reproduce lhe

large r cultur

es

in which they

are

e mb

cdde

d, they dcmonstra te processe of con t

en

tion a nd

control, a

nd

they ncgo tia te

rn

c

anin

gs lhrough simila r processcs that occur in lar

ge

r units.

The

co

mplaints o f specific husband s a bout the hou

sc

kee ping

of

spec

ifi

c wives

are

e nac ted

in many familics and havc

co

me

to

be socially rccognized. Migra tion decisions madc by

particular farnilies. a re re lec ted in l

arge

r demographic pau erns. lssues of work

co

nditions,

media ted through union ac tivities, a re si tuated in an ob

dur

a le cconomic

ordcr

thal may be

unbe nding for individua l workers and owners. Even the s trivings of neighbo rs and villages

are located within a world syste m. Persona l age ncy mallers in response to

du

st, but

the

s

tru

c

tur

e

that co

nsists o f

num

e ro us

age

nt

s wilh

differe

ntial

power

a l

so

affccts outcomes.

111e social organiza tion o f dust nol only re llects thc social organiza tion

of

gende r, lhe


13/16

Dust

3

Througb sociological miniaturism , socia l psychology is integrated in to sociology.

l t

is

through

palt

e rns in the

du

st tha t we r

ecog

nize that

th

e wo rld in all

of

its tiny partic

ular

s

is

fund

ame

ntally, essentially, and perp e tually socia

l.

CKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wisb to

thank

Richard Wilsn

ac

k for his comments on an

ea

rlier version of

this

pap

er.

NOTES

l This article is s lighlly

unu

sual as il is a coaulhored presidential addrcss. The se

cond

aulhor

se rved as the Midwesl Sociological Society s ludcnt direclor. research assistanl , and collaborator

with the fusl au thor. As such, he deserves the credil 10 which the authorship makes clear. How

eve

r, in the l

wo

p

erso

nal opening p

aragrap

hs. the first person sing

ular prono

un is u

se

d to refer to

the firs t a

uth

or.

2. An entertaining theological lecture on the shift from burial to cremation in England is

entitled From Dust lo Ashes'' (Jupp 1990).

3. la che wonderfu l Dr. Seuss slory I-lorron He rs a h

o

(Geisel 1954), Horton the elephan l

discovers a world of inhabitants (the Whos) living on a sp

ec

k o f dusl. ll becomes

hi

s sac red duty 10

protect th

ese

dust mote

dwell

ers from

harm

by tho

sc

who

ea n

not see

(or hear

) them.

4. Even

today

a humorist can call for a war on dus1

:

noiing [ don ' t kn

ow

anybody who lik

es

du

sl. 1 can ' t think of any rcd

ee

ming

qu

alities thal dust has except fo r heing

part

of sorne

dumb

cliches such as bite thc dus

t'

a

nd

' the

du

st is b

eg

inning to se ttle.' lt 's not fun

10

play with. il's not

inter

es

ting.

il

's

11 1

acst hctiea

ll

y pl

eas

ing lo l

oo

k

at and

it

serves 11

fu

nc

1i

o

11

exce

pl

it

ca

uses

aggravation (Li11d 2000. p. E l ). Dust r

ece

ives 110 res pec t.

5. Dusl in spon cvcnls conlri bu tes to the exc it

emenl

and lhc u11ccnain1y o f thc gam

e.

as in the

case of the baseball player who s lides inlo home platc in a cloud of

du

sl.

Th

e dust serves as a cur

tain of surprise

that

suggests the au lhcnlicity and u11prcdict

ab il

ity

of

the g

am e.

6. Resea rch into chemical and bio logical warfare re l

ec

ts whal might be te rmed the weap

onization of dust. Pcrhaps it is our inability 10 dcal wi th the mini cule that makes thesc weapons.

more than bombs and mines. sources o r in te nse public fcar.

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