Author: Jane Kroger
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761929604
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
The Second Edition of Identity Development: Adolescence Through Adulthood presents an overview of the five general theoretical orientations to the question of what constitutes identity, as well as the strengths and limitations of each approach. The volume then proceeds to describe key biological, psychological, and contextual issues during each phase of adolescence and adulthood.
Identity Development
Author: Jane Kroger
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761929604
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
The Second Edition of Identity Development: Adolescence Through Adulthood presents an overview of the five general theoretical orientations to the question of what constitutes identity, as well as the strengths and limitations of each approach. The volume then proceeds to describe key biological, psychological, and contextual issues during each phase of adolescence and adulthood.
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780761929604
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
The Second Edition of Identity Development: Adolescence Through Adulthood presents an overview of the five general theoretical orientations to the question of what constitutes identity, as well as the strengths and limitations of each approach. The volume then proceeds to describe key biological, psychological, and contextual issues during each phase of adolescence and adulthood.
The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development
Author: Kate C. McLean
Publisher: Oxford Library of Psychology
ISBN: 0199936560
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 625
Book Description
Identity is defined in many different ways in various disciplines in the social sciences and sub-disciplines within psychology. The developmental psychological approach to identity is characterized by a focus on developing a sense of the self that is temporally continuous and unified across the different life spaces that individuals inhabit. Erikson proposed that the task of adolescence and young adulthood was to define the self by answering the question: Who Am I? There have been many advances in theory and research on identity development since Erikson's writing over fifty years ago, and the time has come to consolidate our knowledge and set an agenda for future research. The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development represents a turning point in the field of identity development research. Various, and disparate, groups of researchers are brought together to debate, extend, and apply Erikson's theory to contemporary problems and empirical issues. The result is a comprehensive and state-of-the-art examination of identity development that pushes the field in provocative new directions. Scholars of identity development, adolescent and adult development, and related fields, as well as graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and practitioners will find this to be an innovative, unique, and exciting look at identity development.
Publisher: Oxford Library of Psychology
ISBN: 0199936560
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 625
Book Description
Identity is defined in many different ways in various disciplines in the social sciences and sub-disciplines within psychology. The developmental psychological approach to identity is characterized by a focus on developing a sense of the self that is temporally continuous and unified across the different life spaces that individuals inhabit. Erikson proposed that the task of adolescence and young adulthood was to define the self by answering the question: Who Am I? There have been many advances in theory and research on identity development since Erikson's writing over fifty years ago, and the time has come to consolidate our knowledge and set an agenda for future research. The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development represents a turning point in the field of identity development research. Various, and disparate, groups of researchers are brought together to debate, extend, and apply Erikson's theory to contemporary problems and empirical issues. The result is a comprehensive and state-of-the-art examination of identity development that pushes the field in provocative new directions. Scholars of identity development, adolescent and adult development, and related fields, as well as graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and practitioners will find this to be an innovative, unique, and exciting look at identity development.
Identity Development of College Students
Author: Susan R. Jones
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111848228X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 496
Book Description
Identity Development of College Students Building off the foundational work of Erik Erikson and Arthur Chickering, Identity Development of College Students adds broad and innovative research to describe contemporary perspectives of identity development at the intersection of context, personal characteristics, and social identities. The authors employ different theoretical perspectives to explore the nature of context—how it both influences and is influenced by multiple social identities. Each chapter includes discussion and reflection questions and activities for individual or small group work. Praise for Identity Development of College Students "Susan R. Jones and Elisa S. Abes have provided us with a comprehensive and beautifully written overview of the evolution of identity development theory. This book reads like a novel while at the same time conveying important ideas, critical analysis, and cutting-edge research that will enhance student affairs practice." —NANCY J. EVANS, professor, Student Affairs Program, School of Education, Iowa State University "The authors masterfully present a holistic, integrative, and multi-dimensional approach to the identity development of today's college student. This text should be required reading for those engaged in research and practice in the areas of student affairs, counseling, higher education, and cultural studies." —SHARON KIRKLAND-GORDON, director, Counseling Center, University of Maryland, College Park "Susan R. Jones and Elisa S. Abes's work is ground-breaking—charting new scholarly territory and making one of the most significant contributions to identity literature in many years. Building on contemporary and traditional theoretical foundations, Jones and Abes offer new models of identity development essential for understanding a diversity of college students." —MARYLU K. MCEWEN, associate professor emerita, University of Maryland, College Park
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111848228X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 496
Book Description
Identity Development of College Students Building off the foundational work of Erik Erikson and Arthur Chickering, Identity Development of College Students adds broad and innovative research to describe contemporary perspectives of identity development at the intersection of context, personal characteristics, and social identities. The authors employ different theoretical perspectives to explore the nature of context—how it both influences and is influenced by multiple social identities. Each chapter includes discussion and reflection questions and activities for individual or small group work. Praise for Identity Development of College Students "Susan R. Jones and Elisa S. Abes have provided us with a comprehensive and beautifully written overview of the evolution of identity development theory. This book reads like a novel while at the same time conveying important ideas, critical analysis, and cutting-edge research that will enhance student affairs practice." —NANCY J. EVANS, professor, Student Affairs Program, School of Education, Iowa State University "The authors masterfully present a holistic, integrative, and multi-dimensional approach to the identity development of today's college student. This text should be required reading for those engaged in research and practice in the areas of student affairs, counseling, higher education, and cultural studies." —SHARON KIRKLAND-GORDON, director, Counseling Center, University of Maryland, College Park "Susan R. Jones and Elisa S. Abes's work is ground-breaking—charting new scholarly territory and making one of the most significant contributions to identity literature in many years. Building on contemporary and traditional theoretical foundations, Jones and Abes offer new models of identity development essential for understanding a diversity of college students." —MARYLU K. MCEWEN, associate professor emerita, University of Maryland, College Park
Identity Formation, Youth, and Development
Author: James E. Cote
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1135021910
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
The concept of identity is one of the most important ideas the social sciences have investigated in recent years, yet no introductory textbooks are available to those who want to gain a sense of this burgeoning field. The first of its kind, this text provides an introduction to the scientific study of identity formation, with a focus on youth development. The analyses of the problems and prospects faced by contemporary young people in forming identities are placed in the context of societies that themselves are in transition, further complicating identity formation and the interrelated processes of self development and moral-ethical reasoning. In order to sort through what is now a vast literature on the various aspects of human identity, this book introduces the Simplified Identity Formation Theory. This theory cuts through much of the academic jargon that limits the accessibility of this promising field, and builds an understanding of human identity from first principles. This book is optimized for students and instructors, featuring several useful pedagogical tools and a robust series of online resources: Primer format: the text synthesizes the vast and disparate literature that has characterized the field of Identity Studies, with a focus on identity formation during the transition to adulthood; theory and research is discussed in plain, non-technical language, using the author’s new Simplified Identity Formation Theory. In-text pedagogy: to enhance student engagement, box insert and in-text examples from current events, popular culture, and social media are incorporated throughout the text; key terms are in bold in each chapter and combined in a glossary at the end of the text. Online resources for instructors: A robust set of resources that, when combined with the text, provides a complete blueprint for designing an identity course; resources include PowerPoint Presentations, test bank, sample syllabi, and instructor manuals for both face-to-face and online courses that include weekly written assignment questions and discussion-forum questions along with essay topic ideas and grading rubrics. Online resources for students: a student manual, flashcards, practice quizzes, and exercises with video links.
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1135021910
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
The concept of identity is one of the most important ideas the social sciences have investigated in recent years, yet no introductory textbooks are available to those who want to gain a sense of this burgeoning field. The first of its kind, this text provides an introduction to the scientific study of identity formation, with a focus on youth development. The analyses of the problems and prospects faced by contemporary young people in forming identities are placed in the context of societies that themselves are in transition, further complicating identity formation and the interrelated processes of self development and moral-ethical reasoning. In order to sort through what is now a vast literature on the various aspects of human identity, this book introduces the Simplified Identity Formation Theory. This theory cuts through much of the academic jargon that limits the accessibility of this promising field, and builds an understanding of human identity from first principles. This book is optimized for students and instructors, featuring several useful pedagogical tools and a robust series of online resources: Primer format: the text synthesizes the vast and disparate literature that has characterized the field of Identity Studies, with a focus on identity formation during the transition to adulthood; theory and research is discussed in plain, non-technical language, using the author’s new Simplified Identity Formation Theory. In-text pedagogy: to enhance student engagement, box insert and in-text examples from current events, popular culture, and social media are incorporated throughout the text; key terms are in bold in each chapter and combined in a glossary at the end of the text. Online resources for instructors: A robust set of resources that, when combined with the text, provides a complete blueprint for designing an identity course; resources include PowerPoint Presentations, test bank, sample syllabi, and instructor manuals for both face-to-face and online courses that include weekly written assignment questions and discussion-forum questions along with essay topic ideas and grading rubrics. Online resources for students: a student manual, flashcards, practice quizzes, and exercises with video links.
Positive Identity Development
Author: Karyn Harvey
Publisher: Nadd
ISBN: 9781572561496
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
An exciting new approach to caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities, this book provides a new theoretical perspective on treatment along with a variety of innovative tools. It rejects reducing adults with intellectual disabilities to a mere compilation of their behaviors and instead nurtures each individual’s sense of identity. Allowing psychologists, social workers, and therapists to utilize the tools presented to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment they currently provide, this handbook promotes well-being on every level.
Publisher: Nadd
ISBN: 9781572561496
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
An exciting new approach to caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities, this book provides a new theoretical perspective on treatment along with a variety of innovative tools. It rejects reducing adults with intellectual disabilities to a mere compilation of their behaviors and instead nurtures each individual’s sense of identity. Allowing psychologists, social workers, and therapists to utilize the tools presented to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment they currently provide, this handbook promotes well-being on every level.
Youth Development in Identity Societies
Author: James E. Cote
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042978323X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 356
Book Description
This book explores the causes and consequences of the contradictions in young people’s lives stemming from the affluence–purpose paradox: a lack of purpose-in-life among many of those living in the most affluent societies in human history. This paradox is endemic to identity societies where people experience a choice-contingent life course, and is examined using an interdisciplinary approach—largely with an integration of developmental psychology and sociology, but also using historical, anthropological, economic, and political perspectives. The transition to adulthood is now commonly a prolonged process, with young people facing a number of psychological challenges and sociological obstacles in their identity formation. Challenges include difficulties in making prudent choices about goals. Obstacles involve cross-pressures in the wider society as well as in educational institutions. Consequently, many youth experience their education as alienating and stressful rather than as an opportunity for personal development. Those without a sense of purpose have more difficulties with their identity formation that can produce symptoms of anxiety and depression. The current student mental health crisis is examined in this context. An additional challenge is an ambiguously defined adulthood. Young people who are confused about appropriate adult roles often value hedonistic activities rooted in narcissism and materialism rather than in more fulfilling long-term goals. Conversely, those who are agentic in their personal development can thrive in adulthood, especially when they combine agency with generativity. This book ends with a series of recommendations for researchers and policy makers to help youth cope with the affluence–purpose paradox.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042978323X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 356
Book Description
This book explores the causes and consequences of the contradictions in young people’s lives stemming from the affluence–purpose paradox: a lack of purpose-in-life among many of those living in the most affluent societies in human history. This paradox is endemic to identity societies where people experience a choice-contingent life course, and is examined using an interdisciplinary approach—largely with an integration of developmental psychology and sociology, but also using historical, anthropological, economic, and political perspectives. The transition to adulthood is now commonly a prolonged process, with young people facing a number of psychological challenges and sociological obstacles in their identity formation. Challenges include difficulties in making prudent choices about goals. Obstacles involve cross-pressures in the wider society as well as in educational institutions. Consequently, many youth experience their education as alienating and stressful rather than as an opportunity for personal development. Those without a sense of purpose have more difficulties with their identity formation that can produce symptoms of anxiety and depression. The current student mental health crisis is examined in this context. An additional challenge is an ambiguously defined adulthood. Young people who are confused about appropriate adult roles often value hedonistic activities rooted in narcissism and materialism rather than in more fulfilling long-term goals. Conversely, those who are agentic in their personal development can thrive in adulthood, especially when they combine agency with generativity. This book ends with a series of recommendations for researchers and policy makers to help youth cope with the affluence–purpose paradox.
Identity and Lifelong Learning
Author: Sue L. Motulsky
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1648022154
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
Learning and identity development are lifetime processes of becoming. The construction of self, of interest to scholars and practitioners in adult development and adult learning, is an ongoing process, with the self both forming and being formed by lived experience in privileged and oppressive contexts. Intersecting identities and the power dynamics within them shape how learners define themselves and others and how they make meaning of their experiences in the world. The series, I Am What I Become: Constructing Identities as Lifelong Learners, is an insightful and diverse collection of empirical research and narrative essays in identity development, adult development, and adult learning. The purpose of this series is to publish contributions that highlight the intimate and intricate connections between learning and identity. The series aims to assist our readers to understand and nurture adults who are always in the process of becoming. We hope to promote reflection and research at the intersection of identity and adult learning at any point across the adult lifespan. The rich array of qualitative research designs as well as autobiographic and narrative essays transform and expand our understanding of the lived experience of people both like us and unlike us, from the U.S. and beyond. Identity and Lifelong Learning: Becoming through Lived Experience, Volume Two of the series, focuses on identity and learning within informal settings and life experiences. The contributions showcase the many ways that identity development and learning occur within cultural domains, through developmental and identity challenges or transitions in career or role, and in a variety of places from assisted living facilities to makerspaces. These chapters highlight identity and learning across the adult lifespan from millennials and emerging adults to midlife and older adults. The authors examine cultural, relational and social identity exploration and learning in international contexts and within marginalized communities. This volume features phenomenological and ethnographic qualitative studies, autoethnographies, case studies, and narratives that engage the reader in the myriad ways that adult development, learning, and identity connect and influence each other. Praise for: Identity and Lifelong Learning: Becoming Through Lived Experience "We all pay lip service to the importance of lifelong learning, but what is it exactly and how does it come about? The connections between identity and learning are intriguing and complex, especially when it comes to adult learners. In this very thoughtfully organized collection, researchers present qualitative and narrative studies, along with personal narratives, to explore identity development in formal and informal learning environments. Contributions from varied cultural contexts, most with powerful and moving stories to tell, provide insight into how identity, meaning-making, and adult learning and development intersect and influence each other. Psychologists, scholars and educators interested in identity development and meaning-making will find inspiration and fresh understanding in this innovative and enlightening series." Ruthellen Josselson Author of Paths to Fulfillment: Women’s Search for Meaning and Identity "This innovative series on adult development is inspiring and substantive. We hear voices from the margins and stories of courage. We read identity-formation narratives by young adults and experienced professionals who share impressive capacities for transparency, vulnerability, and self-reflection. Many of the narratives are embedded in rigorous qualitative research that highlights diverse ways that identity is shaped through social positionality, lived experience, the quest for individuation, and willingness to encounter life as a dynamic learning process." Jared D. Kass, Lesley University Author, of A Person-Centered Approach to Psychospiritual Maturation: Mentoring Psychological Resilience and Inclusive Community in Higher Education
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1648022154
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
Learning and identity development are lifetime processes of becoming. The construction of self, of interest to scholars and practitioners in adult development and adult learning, is an ongoing process, with the self both forming and being formed by lived experience in privileged and oppressive contexts. Intersecting identities and the power dynamics within them shape how learners define themselves and others and how they make meaning of their experiences in the world. The series, I Am What I Become: Constructing Identities as Lifelong Learners, is an insightful and diverse collection of empirical research and narrative essays in identity development, adult development, and adult learning. The purpose of this series is to publish contributions that highlight the intimate and intricate connections between learning and identity. The series aims to assist our readers to understand and nurture adults who are always in the process of becoming. We hope to promote reflection and research at the intersection of identity and adult learning at any point across the adult lifespan. The rich array of qualitative research designs as well as autobiographic and narrative essays transform and expand our understanding of the lived experience of people both like us and unlike us, from the U.S. and beyond. Identity and Lifelong Learning: Becoming through Lived Experience, Volume Two of the series, focuses on identity and learning within informal settings and life experiences. The contributions showcase the many ways that identity development and learning occur within cultural domains, through developmental and identity challenges or transitions in career or role, and in a variety of places from assisted living facilities to makerspaces. These chapters highlight identity and learning across the adult lifespan from millennials and emerging adults to midlife and older adults. The authors examine cultural, relational and social identity exploration and learning in international contexts and within marginalized communities. This volume features phenomenological and ethnographic qualitative studies, autoethnographies, case studies, and narratives that engage the reader in the myriad ways that adult development, learning, and identity connect and influence each other. Praise for: Identity and Lifelong Learning: Becoming Through Lived Experience "We all pay lip service to the importance of lifelong learning, but what is it exactly and how does it come about? The connections between identity and learning are intriguing and complex, especially when it comes to adult learners. In this very thoughtfully organized collection, researchers present qualitative and narrative studies, along with personal narratives, to explore identity development in formal and informal learning environments. Contributions from varied cultural contexts, most with powerful and moving stories to tell, provide insight into how identity, meaning-making, and adult learning and development intersect and influence each other. Psychologists, scholars and educators interested in identity development and meaning-making will find inspiration and fresh understanding in this innovative and enlightening series." Ruthellen Josselson Author of Paths to Fulfillment: Women’s Search for Meaning and Identity "This innovative series on adult development is inspiring and substantive. We hear voices from the margins and stories of courage. We read identity-formation narratives by young adults and experienced professionals who share impressive capacities for transparency, vulnerability, and self-reflection. Many of the narratives are embedded in rigorous qualitative research that highlights diverse ways that identity is shaped through social positionality, lived experience, the quest for individuation, and willingness to encounter life as a dynamic learning process." Jared D. Kass, Lesley University Author, of A Person-Centered Approach to Psychospiritual Maturation: Mentoring Psychological Resilience and Inclusive Community in Higher Education
Identity as a Foundation for Human Resource Development
Author: Kate Black
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317370260
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
Human Resource Development (HRD) involves the design, delivery and evaluation of learning and/or training interventions within organisations to improve the work performance of individuals and groups. This edited collection will demonstrate the potential of identity theorising for problematizing and reconceptualising HRD activities. Identity will thus be established as a foundation for enhancing HRD policy and practice. While identity has emerged as a key focus for theoretical debate and for empirical research within management and organisational studies, the potential of identity as a new paradigm for understanding learning and for examining HRD more broadly is still emergent. That identity has such potential can be seen in the increasing recognition that training and development for many contemporary occupations represents nothing less than a "project of the self". Identity as a Foundation for Human Resource Development will complete a gap in the market providing sound, single source, theoretical foundations from the latest trends in identity theorising, now a key area of organisation studies, and apply these to HRD policy and practice. The emphasis throughout will be on informing HRD policy and practice, research and education the book includes a chapter on resources and techniques for HRD educators. In short, the book will "put identity to work" for HRD scholars. The intended audiences are Human Resource Development scholars, academics, students and professionals, this exciting new volume will provide a thoughtful theoretical analysis and operational practise for modern HRD.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317370260
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
Human Resource Development (HRD) involves the design, delivery and evaluation of learning and/or training interventions within organisations to improve the work performance of individuals and groups. This edited collection will demonstrate the potential of identity theorising for problematizing and reconceptualising HRD activities. Identity will thus be established as a foundation for enhancing HRD policy and practice. While identity has emerged as a key focus for theoretical debate and for empirical research within management and organisational studies, the potential of identity as a new paradigm for understanding learning and for examining HRD more broadly is still emergent. That identity has such potential can be seen in the increasing recognition that training and development for many contemporary occupations represents nothing less than a "project of the self". Identity as a Foundation for Human Resource Development will complete a gap in the market providing sound, single source, theoretical foundations from the latest trends in identity theorising, now a key area of organisation studies, and apply these to HRD policy and practice. The emphasis throughout will be on informing HRD policy and practice, research and education the book includes a chapter on resources and techniques for HRD educators. In short, the book will "put identity to work" for HRD scholars. The intended audiences are Human Resource Development scholars, academics, students and professionals, this exciting new volume will provide a thoughtful theoretical analysis and operational practise for modern HRD.
Identity and the Life Cycle
Author: Erik H. Erikson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393285405
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 196
Book Description
Erik H. Erikson's remarkable insights into the relationship of life history and history began with observations on a central stage of life: identity development in adolescence. This book collects three early papers that—along with Childhood and Society—many consider the best introduction to Erikson's theories. "Ego Development and Historical Change" is a selection of extensive notes in which Erikson first undertook to relate to each other observations on groups studied on field trips and on children studied longitudinally and clinically. These notes are representative of the source material used for Childhood and Society. "Growth and Crises of the Health Personality" takes Erikson beyond adolescence, into the critical stages of the whole life cycle. In the third and last essay, Erikson deals with "The Problem of Ego Identity" successively from biographical, clinical, and social points of view—all dimensions later pursued separately in his work.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393285405
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 196
Book Description
Erik H. Erikson's remarkable insights into the relationship of life history and history began with observations on a central stage of life: identity development in adolescence. This book collects three early papers that—along with Childhood and Society—many consider the best introduction to Erikson's theories. "Ego Development and Historical Change" is a selection of extensive notes in which Erikson first undertook to relate to each other observations on groups studied on field trips and on children studied longitudinally and clinically. These notes are representative of the source material used for Childhood and Society. "Growth and Crises of the Health Personality" takes Erikson beyond adolescence, into the critical stages of the whole life cycle. In the third and last essay, Erikson deals with "The Problem of Ego Identity" successively from biographical, clinical, and social points of view—all dimensions later pursued separately in his work.
New Perspectives on Racial Identity Development
Author: Charmaine Wijeyesinghe
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814794807
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
For well over a century, the United Fruit Company (UFCO) has been the most vilified multinational corporation operating in Latin America. Criticism of the UFCO has been widespread, ranging from politicians to consumer activists, and from labor leaders to historians, all portraying it as an overwhelmingly powerful corporation that shaped and often exploited its host countries. In this first history of the UFCO in Colombia, Marcelo Bucheli argues that the UFCO's image as an all-powerful force in determining national politics needs to be reconsidered. Using a previously unexplored source—the internal archives of Colombia's UFCO operation—Bucheli reveals that before 1930, the UFCO worked alongside a business-friendly government that granted it generous concessions and repressed labor unionism. After 1930, however, the country experienced dramatic transformations including growing nationalism, a stronger labor movement, and increasing demands by local elites for higher stakes in the banana export business. In response to these circumstances, the company abandoned production, selling its plantations (and labor conflicts) to local growers, while transforming itself into a marketing company. The shift was endorsed by the company's shareholders and financial analysts, who preferred lower profits with lower risks, and came at a time in which the demand for bananas was decreasing in America. Importantly, Bucheli shows that the effect of foreign direct investment was not unidirectional. Instead, the agency of local actors affected corporate strategy, just as the UFCO also transformed local politics and society.
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814794807
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
For well over a century, the United Fruit Company (UFCO) has been the most vilified multinational corporation operating in Latin America. Criticism of the UFCO has been widespread, ranging from politicians to consumer activists, and from labor leaders to historians, all portraying it as an overwhelmingly powerful corporation that shaped and often exploited its host countries. In this first history of the UFCO in Colombia, Marcelo Bucheli argues that the UFCO's image as an all-powerful force in determining national politics needs to be reconsidered. Using a previously unexplored source—the internal archives of Colombia's UFCO operation—Bucheli reveals that before 1930, the UFCO worked alongside a business-friendly government that granted it generous concessions and repressed labor unionism. After 1930, however, the country experienced dramatic transformations including growing nationalism, a stronger labor movement, and increasing demands by local elites for higher stakes in the banana export business. In response to these circumstances, the company abandoned production, selling its plantations (and labor conflicts) to local growers, while transforming itself into a marketing company. The shift was endorsed by the company's shareholders and financial analysts, who preferred lower profits with lower risks, and came at a time in which the demand for bananas was decreasing in America. Importantly, Bucheli shows that the effect of foreign direct investment was not unidirectional. Instead, the agency of local actors affected corporate strategy, just as the UFCO also transformed local politics and society.