Petro-fied: Oil Town Uncertainty – Creating a Unique Identity Despite Undefined Futures in Fort McMurray

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dc.contributor.advisorPeric, Sabrina
dc.contributor.authorNg, Megan Winyen
dc.contributor.committeememberDolata, Petra
dc.contributor.committeememberYessenova, Saulesh
dc.contributor.committeememberPeric, Sabrina
dc.date2019-06
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-26T15:48:34Z
dc.date.available2018-10-26T15:48:34Z
dc.date.issued2018-10-25
dc.description.abstractFort McMurray’s history as a resource town has resulted in its various changing identities over the years with historical roots as a fur trading post, lumber and salt processing mine, and freshwater fish plant prior to its current identity as an oil town. The wildfires of 2016 and current depressed global oil prices have led many to speculate about Fort McMurray’s future existence and growth. In this thesis, I explore the topic of uncertainty in Fort McMurray and its influence on the sense of community in Fort McMurray. Uncertainty is often mitigated through the control of social and labour time. As the division of labour in Fort McMurray is often gendered, uncertainty and its temporal mitigations often become masculinized or feminized. I also examine uncertainty in the context of the future of the community of Fort McMurray and the future of my informants with regards to the sacrifices and decisions they choose to make for a future-anterior approach. However, it is also this uncertainty that allows individuals to form unique identities found only in Fort McMurray because of competing interpretations of the idea of community. There are multiple experiences of Fort McMurray that are all valid and therefore no singular monopolized definition of community exists. The lack of conformity enables uncertainty about gender roles, a definitive future, and the very definition of community. This makes Fort McMurray unique in that it allows for multiple experiences of Fort McMurray and demonstrates that resource town life can be quite variable in contrast to the stereotypes portrayed by the media.en_US
dc.identifier.citationNg, M. W. (2018). Petro-fied: Oil Town Uncertainty – Creating a Unique Identity Despite Undefined Futures in Fort McMurray (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/33229en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33229
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/108925
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyArts
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectoil town
dc.subjectFort McMurray
dc.subjectresource town
dc.subjectOil Sands
dc.subjectcommunity
dc.subjectgender roles
dc.subjectuncertain futures
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Social Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationAnthropologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationCanadian Studiesen_US
dc.subject.classificationEconomics--Historyen_US
dc.subject.classificationGeographyen_US
dc.subject.classificationIndustrial and Labor Relationsen_US
dc.subject.classificationUrban and Regional Planningen_US
dc.titlePetro-fied: Oil Town Uncertainty – Creating a Unique Identity Despite Undefined Futures in Fort McMurray
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineAnthropology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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