Difference and science at work: the occupational identity of analytical chemists

In this dissertation, I provide an examination of the relationship between difference (as it relates to national origin and gender) and the occupational identity of analytical chemists working in the United States. This project explores the ways in which aspects of worker difference play a role in the performance and understanding of occupational tasks, responsibilities, membership, and acceptance. Four research problems motivate this project: First, literature regarding foreign-born workers has focused primarily on the individual as the site of difference and has yet to engage how systemic aspects of difference affect organizing. Second, domestic discourses of difference or nation are the most regularly engaged in studies of work, but these areas are rarely examined together, which has stunted our ability to consider questions of global diversity in organizing.