Labor History Research Articles

Invisible Labor and the "Ghost Particle": Underground Physics at the Kolar Gold Fields.

When cosmic rays-high-energy particles from outer space-encounter the Earth's atmosphere, they produce particles called neutrinos. To detect them, physicists go underground inside deep mines where the overlying rock can filter out the cosmic-ray background radiation. I examine how the first such detection of neutrinos in 1965 by an international team of physicists at the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in India-a gold mine where the British began mining in 1880-was made possible by the invisible labor of lowered-caste, or Dalit, miners. By studying the underground, this paper contributes to recent attention to verticality in the history of science, while moving away from the dominant approach to spatial studies of sites of science, the lab-field framework, and instead examining the social, political, and economic conditions that made KGF, with its depth, possible as a site for physics. Using labor histories of KGF and archival material about the experiments, I argue that the mines became nearly three kilometers deep only because of a regime of racialized labor in which Dalit miners worked in difficult and dangerous conditions for less than subsistence-level wages. I also show how the experiments depended on this invisible labor that ran the mines.

Empowering Women in Labor History: A Primary Source Analysis of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

This case study activity examines the lack of representation of women’s contributions in secondary social studies curricula, highlighting the necessity of incorporating women’s perspectives into historical narratives. Centered on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—a crucial event of the Progressive Era—it highlights the vital roles of working-class women in advancing labor rights and driving social change. Through the analysis of primary sources, students engage in a thorough examination and discussion of the events that transpired before, during, and after the fire at the Asch Building in Manhattan, New York, on March 25, 1911. Students will understand how the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire served as a catalyst for change in labor laws, women’s rights, and social reform in early 20th-century America. By employing the case study method, this activity seeks to promote critical thinking skills and a student-centered learning environment by allowing students to analyze, compare, and contrast various viewpoints.

Orality, State Power, and the Labour of Policing in Colonial Bengal, c.1850–1947

Abstract In colonial Bengal, the average police constable was largely unlettered. Nevertheless, constables were at the frontline in the enforcement of colonial law. This paradox of an unlettered constabulary enforcing the letter of law defies the familiar logic in the historical scholarship on British India that associates the written word with histories of state power and orality with histories of subaltern classes. In a departure from the existing literature on the significance of writing and documentary power for modern state-making, this article uncovers a world of orality at the heart of state power. To do this, the article deploys a labour history method to the vast archive of the colonial police and explores the play of orality in the labouring lives of police constables in colonial Bengal. In the nineteenth century, colonial officials responded to the illiteracy of their constabulary workforce by organizing oral instruction in law at police stations. The constable heard the law as speech rather than grasping it as text. In this aural space, his consciousness became a site for the reinterpretation of the law, refracted through the operation of the security labour market, his conditions of work, and the modes of constabulary training. Moreover, oral modalities structured how the police worked on the streets, and police officials, despite complaining about the illiteracy of constables, exploited this illiteracy to consolidate the violent power of the colonial police.

Evaluation of Functional and Spatial Characteristics of Historical Underground Mining Workings in the Context of Selecting a New Utility Function

Underground mining workings represent a valuable cultural, industrial, and civilizational heritage, serving as a testament to the history of human labour. The protection of old historical underground sites is an element of protecting mankind’s cultural heritage, a vital component of sustainable development. Supporting and adapting underground sites involve aesthetics, environmental issues, urban development, and natural and social aspects. Many of these sites, such as the salt mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka, are designated as nature reserves or UNESCO World Heritage sites. The preservation of these spaces requires a balanced approach that integrates their original function with new forms of usage, such as tourist routes or museums. The authenticity of these objects enhances their value as unique tourist products, supporting the conservation of heritage while addressing contemporary needs. In the adaptation process of underground sites, it is crucial to consider their specific characteristics, influenced by geological conditions, and to adapt them to new functions. A detailed analysis of geological, social, political, and landscape values is necessary to ensure that the adaptation process aligns with heritage protection principles. Several successful examples of such adaptations already exist in Poland, demonstrating their potential to bridge the past with the future, creating valuable functional programs. The article undertakes an analysis of the functional and spatial characteristics of underground mining workings in the context of selecting new uses, considering both their historical value and the needs of modern users. The impact of adaptation on the integrity of these objects is evaluated, and an approach is proposed that combines cultural heritage preservation with the possibility of utilising it for a new function.

Afterword: no such thing as colonial mastery on Mars

In this afterword, I return to a friendly disagreement between myself and my co-editor, Arun Saldanha, during the writing of the introductory essay of this special issue to make the case that a critical, materialist approach to human presence on Mars demands starting from the material facts of Martian planetary conditions. I argue that the differences between Mars and Earth render terrestrial histories of colonialism, labor, and dissent inadequate as analogies for what may unfold on a Martian settlement mission, and therefore require revised analytics for a robust critical engagement with Mars and human-Mars relations.

Colonial Algeria's ‘Spanish problem’ 1939–1942: the case of Abbé José Manresa

ABSTRACT At the onset of the Second World War, the western Algerian department of Oran became a focal point for Spanish imperial ambitions, driven by Franco's regime and its vision of expanding influence in North Africa. Falangist propaganda efforts, led by Abbé José Manresa and the Spanish Consul Bernabé Sanchez Toca, aimed to assert Spanish annexation claims and persuade Europeans in Algeria to see Spain as the ‘rightful’ inheritor of Oran. Manresa targeted both Spanish nationals and French citizens of Spanish descent, appealing to shared grievances rooted in labour history and the marginalisation of working-class settlers under French rule. As Spanish officials worked to advance these annexation claims, French authorities sought to undermine them by minimising the contributions of naturalised French citizens of Spanish origin – derogatorily labelled as néo-français – to the colonial labour force, questioning their Frenchness in the process. This article explores the interplay between Spanish and French state ambitions in Oran during the war and examines how Franco's North African aspirations intensified tensions within the colony. It also highlights the paradoxical identities of the néo population, whose loyalties were pulled between Francoist Spain and the French colonial state amid rising fears of fifth-column activity during the global conflict.

The clock‐drawing test: reading temporalities of dementia from clinical chart notes

The clock‐drawing test, a cognitive screening test widely used clinically, is here taken as a window onto forms of temporality present in clinical encounters involving dementia. Drawing on close reading of clinical notes from their medical records, I offer imagistic silhouettes of three older adults in the Seattle area who had no living spouse or children when they developed dementia. Attending to temporality in these records brings clinical interactions into focus as part of the fundamental relationality of dementia, even as attending dementia highlights the fundamental relationality of time. The article examines how small‐scale singularities of time in the clinic bear the imprint of collective temporal registers, including cultural expectations of the life course and larger histories of labour and medicine – and how dementia can unsettle these forms and layers of temporality. Both temporality and dementia alike, I argue, are thoroughly social, historical, and embodied phenomena, their disorientations tangled up together for the time being.

Storying business histories: a Canadian Alouette woman’s spiral through space and time

Purpose There are more than 120 Canadian women who worked on the design, manufacturing, testing, launch and operation of the Alouette I satellite, launched into space during the Cold War era’s race to space. And yet, these women are positioned outside of space business and labour histories. The author aims to influence and dismantle this hegemonic positioning and celebrate one of these women’s histories in the present and future by asking and providing a plausible answer to How do you build and share histories of a hidden, invisible or forgotten science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-professional woman? Design/methodology/approach The author embraces a poststructural intersectional feminist lens within the postmodern histories approach coupled with the gendered antenarratives theoretical framework to dismantle these knowledge hierarchies. Based on primary source interviews, archival documents and photographs from 1950 to 1979, the author weaves these collected data with the Canadian space industrial historical context, carefully choosing who is placed at the center of this study, while also considering how she obtained, shared, and meaningfully engaged with historical discontinuous bodies of discourses (re)created into a Canadian Alouette woman’s spiral of storying. Findings The reader is invited to jump into the spiral of storying at the dawn of the Canadian capitalist space industry. This spiral is presented via writing differently and speculative fiction, offering a dialogical web that moves beyond the structural boundaries created by previous Alouette I grand narratives. By using this storying approach, the author contributes to women’s and gender historians’ efforts to celebrate and engage with more diverse histories and to disrupt the hegemonic positioning of women outside the boundaries of space business and labour histories. Originality/value This research stands apart from other space histories as the author aims to distance her (re)production of gendered living stories from the practice of grand narratives. Furthermore, this study, framed within the poststructural intersectional feminist lens, is a deliberate act to deviate from the liberal feminist lens that permeates the treatment of women in business and labour historical studies. She also refocuses our attention on a Canadian woman’s space contributions that were hidden in archival boxes. Arguing that we must continue to obtain, share and meaningfully engage with STEM professional women’s experiences in the space industry, this manuscript inspires girls and young women in the present and future to continue to reach for the stars.

Breaking The Cycle of Lost Innocence: An In-Depth Study on The Impact of Child Labor on Children in Bangladesh

Child labor remains a critical issue in Bangladesh, where millions of children are deprived of their basic rights to education, safety, and a childhood free from exploitation. This paper aims to comprehensively examine the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to child labor in Bangladesh, with a particular focus on its socioeconomic impact. The primary objectives of this research are to identify the underlying factors contributing to child labor, analyze its effects on the lives of children, and propose actionable policy interventions to address the issue. This study adopts a qualitative research approach using secondary data analysis to examine the issue of child labour in Bangladesh. Data is collected from a variety of sources, including government reports, international organizations, academic articles, media reports, and NGO publications. A qualitative content analysis method is then used to identify key themes, conduct comparative analysis with global case studies, and evaluate policy effectiveness. The findings demonstrated culturally relevant socioeconomic effects of child labour measuring the physical & mental health impact to this group of child labourers as well as providing limited human capital ensuring they remain in a dark wheel of never being able to better their situation, rarely having the opportunity to attend any school and existing in a perpetual process of poverty. Child labor also contributes to the economic problem of the wider nation, including inequality and economic inefficiency. Thus, it is concluded that to break the history of child labor in Bangladesh we need a multidimensional remedy starting with tighter enforcement of laws, better access to education and interdisciplinary poverty mitigation programs which should be taken place along with the International agencies and Organizations driving the need to protect the political economy of child labor.

Supporting the home care workforce across the Southern United States: impetus, exploration, and policy strategies.

Southern states face severe home care labor shortages due to low wages, poor working conditions, and limited career advancement opportunities, which are exacerbated by the region's historical labor policies and economic inequalities. This study analyzed workforce size in relation to the population of older adults likely to require paid home care services, subsequently contextualizing those results using a thematic analysis of state American Rescue Plan Act section 9817 spending plans to identify trends in proposed initiatives designed to strengthen the workforce across the region. Our findings highlight significant disparities in workforce availability, with more diverse areas with higher concentrations of Hispanic, immigrant, and low-income populations exhibiting higher workforce capacity compared with less diverse regions. We also found consensus across states on the inadequacy of direct care worker wages, demonstrated by the large number of proposed reimbursement rate increases included in the state spending plans.

The association between exercise, activities, and frailty in older Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study based on the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) data

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between exercise/activities and frailty in older Chinese adults using the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS).MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 6862 participants aged 65 years or older from the CLHLS 2018. Frailty was assessed using a 38-variable frailty index (FI). Activities included Tai chi, square dance, garden work, raising animals/pets, playing cards/mah-jongg, social activity and housework. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between exercise/activities and frailty, adjusting for covariates such as gender, age, BMI, chronic diseases, residence, education, co-residence, economic status, smoking, drinking, physical labor history, and nutritional supplements.ResultsThe mean age of this study was 81.5 (SD = 10.3)years, with 3567 (52%) females. Frailty prevalence was 32.3%. The prevalence of exercise and daily activities was 31% and 78.6%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the likelihood of frailty increased with decreased exercise (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.57, 2.18, P < 0.001) and activities (OR = 4.43, 95% CI: 3.74, 5.25, P < 0.001).ConclusionsParticipation in exercise/activities is associated with a lower likelihood of frailty. Regular housework may also contribute to reducing frailty risk.

The seasonality of empire: Coping with the intermittence of the global in Portuguese Asia and beyond (1500–1650)

Abstract Global historians have contributed greatly to reconfiguring our understanding of the early modern world. An emphasis has broadly emerged in current scholarship on the long-distance circulation of people and goods and cross-cultural exchange of knowledge with overseas empires usually described as major vectors of global interaction. This article corrects and complicates such an interpretation by calling attention to the periodic interruption of the main lines of maritime communication that many port cities around the world experienced every year and what this meant to their inhabitants. In particular, it focuses on the seasonality of the Portuguese Empire in monsoon Asia during the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth centuries. This specific case is approached through a combination of ecological history, labour history, and the history of emotions. Its general significance is further illuminated by extensive use of comparison with examples related to other empires across the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Digitization as scientific labor: Critical approaches and recommendations for herbaria

AbstractViewing digitization against a backdrop of the history of herbarium labor—and in the wake of substantial shifts in the museum landscape—we give a series of recommendations for mass digitization projects centered around recognizing digitization as skilled scientific labor.

An interview with Iris Berger

abstract Historian Professor Iris Berger sits down with co-editors Lucy Emma Kernick and Laura Richardson to discuss her life and research into the labour history of women in South Africa which culminated in her book Threads of Solidarity, published in 1992. The interview forms part of a larger effort to capture the voices of feminist scholars who shaped South African thought and academic scholarship between 1975 and 1995.

An interview with Deborah Gaitskell

abstract Historian Professor Iris Berger sits down with co-editors Lucy Emma Kernick and Laura Richardson to discuss her life and research into the labour history of women in South Africa which culminated in her book Threads of Solidarity, published in 1992. The interview forms part of a larger effort to capture the voices of feminist scholars who shaped South African thought and academic scholarship between 1975 and 1995.

Histological chorioamnionitis and its predictors among mothers with premature rupture of membranes delivering at tertiary hospitals in Uganda: a multicenter cross-sectional study

BackgroundHistological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is a significant global threat to maternal and fetal health, with an increasing prevalence in resource-limited settings. However, data on its burden and predictors remain scarce in Africa, including Uganda. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of HCA among mothers with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) at three tertiary hospitals in Uganda.MethodsThis multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted over a three-month period, from July to October 2023, at three tertiary hospitals in Uganda. A total of 106 women diagnosed with PROM were consecutively enrolled. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that captured routine history-taking and physical examinations. Key information gathered included the history of liquor drainage, clinical signs of chorioamnionitis (fever, uterine tenderness, and foul-smelling liquor), labor history, and placental samples obtained after delivery for histopathological analysis. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were performed using STATA version 14.2. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval. Results were presented using bar charts, pie charts, and tables.ResultsAmong the 106 participants with PROM, 44 (41.5%) had histological chorioamnionitis. The most common histological finding was neutrophil infiltration in 22 cases (50.0%), followed by funisitis in 13 cases (29.6%). Referral status (aOR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.511–13.315, p = 0.007) and lack of prenatal care (PNC) attendance (aOR = 9.8, 95% CI: 2.802–14.504, p = 0.000) were independently associated with histological chorioamnionitis.Conclusions and recommendations.The prevalence of HCA in this study was notably higher than previously reported data from Uganda. Neutrophil infiltration was the most frequently observed histological lesion. Patients with PROM who were referred from other health facilities or had not attended PNC were at a higher risk of developing HCA. These findings highlight the critical need for early detection and management of HCA in mothers with PROM, particularly in resource-limited settings. Routine screening for HCA should be implemented for all women presenting with PROM, with special attention to referred cases and those without PNC. Early initiation of treatment should be considered until the diagnosis is definitively ruled out. Further research is needed to explore the underlying causes of HCA to inform targeted preventive measures.

Symptomatic Pelvic Floor Disorders in Community-Dwelling Women in Central Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia.

This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence and factors contributing to pelvic floor disorder (PFD) symptoms. A community-based cross-sectional study was employed among 737 women in the central Gondar Zone of Northwest Ethiopia from September to December 2022. Participants were selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling. The Amharic version of the Pelvic Floor Disorder Inventory 20 (PFDI-20) tool was employed to evaluate the occurrence of PFDs. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify associated factors of PFDs. The prevalence of at least one form of PFD was 26.9% (95% CI 23.3 to 30.0%). Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms, urinary incontinence, and fecal incontinence were reported at rates of 19.9%, 19.7%, and 12.8% respectively. Factors associated with PFDs included increasing age (AOR = 3.61, 95% CI 1.01 to 6.91), residing in a rural area (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI 1.63 to 3.66), a history of difficult labor (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.66), multiple vaginal deliveries (AOR = 2.41, 95% CI 2.18 to 3.92), home delivery (AOR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.86 to 2.93), and being postmenopausal (AOR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.89). Currently, more than 25% of women are experiencing distressing symptoms associated with PFDs. Contributing factors include older age, rural residence, having multiple vaginal deliveries, and postmenopausal status. Therefore, it is essential to focus on the early identification of PFD symptoms, raise awareness within the community and among women regarding the connections between advanced age, menopause, and multiparity, and advocate for family planning initiatives.

Diagnostic approach and clinical management in collodion babies: A case report

Collodion baby (CB) is a rare form of congenital ichthyosis, characterized by hyperkeratosis, severe erythroderma, and minimal desquamation. It is a rare condition with a prevalence of one in 300,000 live births and is usually born prematurely. The baby's thick, shiny crust can cause eyelid ectropion, lip deformation, underdeveloped cartilages, and affect the newborn's lung functions, leading to dehydration, malnutrition, hypoxia, and lung infections. The success of the diagnostic approach and clinical management in collodion baby is reported. A 15-hour-old baby girl, J, was born at Fatimah Probolinggo Hospital on July 29, 2024, with tense and blistered skin since birth. She was the second child born by cesarean section with a history of maternal labor. The baby received Vitamin K and Hepatitis B injections shortly after birth. The parents reported a similar complaint in their first child, a collodion baby. After physical examination, laboratory tests, and echocardiography, J was diagnosed with lamellar ichthyosis and ocular ectropion. An echocardiogram was performed on August 2, 2024, and the diagnosis was suspected as collodion syndrome accompanied by extropion oculo dextra sinistra and lamellar ichthyosis. On August 7, 2024, J experienced significant improvement and was discharged from the hospital. A comprehensive approach and treatment from a combination of specialties can improve the prognosis of infants with collodion.

Labor History and Class Violence: A Meditation on the Anniversary of Lochner V. New York

Abstract The year 2025 marks the 120th anniversary of Lochner v. New York, a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down legislative limits on work hours in the baking industry. U.S. scholars generally agree this decision harmed workers and was a setback to the labor movement in the United States. The essay borrows from some of the historian E.P. Thompson’s writings on the relationship between historical inquiry and normative values in order to reflect on Lochner and the relative consensus among scholars opposing the decision. That reflection in turn serves as a point of entry for thinking about the role of normative values in doing labor history, what values we propound in the present by writing and teaching about the history of working-class people, and how those issues relate to different ways labor historians can understand what is arguably our field’s central category, class. The essay suggests that, with regard to the Lochner decision and in general, labor history is something of a different activity if the field’s orientation is toward the amelioration of time- and place-specific problems in working-class people’s lives, toward class as inherently a category of violence and injustice, or both.

Wound Healing After Vaginal Delivery, Episiotomy, and Cesarean Section Delivery Among Women With IBD: Results From the PIANO Registry.

Women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face complexities of disease management during pregnancy and childbirth. Apprehension regarding vaginal delivery in pregnant individuals with IBD persists due to concern for perianal disease and perineal trauma. The incidence of poor wound healing after obstetric anal sphincter injury is approximately 4% in the general population. In an IBD population, risk of developing and difficulty healing perineal tears and episiotomy is not well described. In a multicenter prospective cohort of pregnant individuals with IBD, we collected demographic information, IBD disease and treatment history, pregnancy and labor history, and reports of delayed wound healing >1 month from episiotomy, vaginal tear, or Cesarean (C-) section. Prospective data were collected using questionnaires that were administered each trimester of pregnancy, at delivery, and in the year postpartum. There were 743 patients in the PIANO registry who answered questions pertaining to postpartum wound healing, with 330 (44%) reporting a C-section and 413 (56%) reporting a vaginal delivery. Of 119 C-section deliveries assessed for delayed wound healing, only 1 (0.8%) patient reported this complication. Episiotomies were reported in 59 (14%) patients, with 9 (15%) reporting delayed wound healing. Vaginal tears were reported in 252 (64%) patients. Delayed wound healing from vaginal tear was reported in 9% of patients. Use of immunomodulators was associated with delayed wound healing from episiotomy (33% vs 0% for those on no medications, P = .024). No difference was seen in wound healing time for episiotomy with other medications, including corticosteroids, anti-tumor necrosis factor, or anti-integrin use. Delayed wound healing from vaginal tear was not associated with any class of IBD medication. Episiotomy was a common occurrence in patients with IBD. Immunomodulator, but not biologic, use was found to be associated with delayed wound healing. This association could reflect a direct medication effect on episiotomy wound healing or inadequate treatment of underlying active disease prior to delivery. Vaginal tears were also common but delayed wound healing was not associated with IBD therapy. C-section occurred at high rates, particularly in Crohn's disease patients, with no reported delays in postpartum wound healing.