YOU ARE ABOUT TO PARTY DEFIANT STYLE - SOCIALIZATION AND IDENTITY ONBOARD AN ALASKAN FISHING BOAT

The authors describe the processes through which inexperienced newcome rs were socialized into the grueling work life onboard an Alaskan traw ler. Newcomers were indoctrinated collectively by their more experienc ed coworkers and, through ritual debasement, were led to construct a s ocial identity that glorified the ability to withstand onerous work de mands. This process facilitated identification with the trawler and it s culture but at the expense of many newcomers who were unable or unwi lling to conform to the narrow persona of a compliant and diligent wor ker. The socialization process also created strong normative expectati ons of the captain that he subsequently appeared to ignore, thereby ga lvanizing dissent and turnover. Socialization thus provided the basis for identification and subsequent disidentification.