Mike Rose: New Edition of Book Revisits Cognitive Demands of Service Industries - UCLA School of Education & Information Studies
UCLA staff
UCLA School of Education & Information Studies6/2/2014·Read paper
Abstract
Let me start close to home. I think I picked up from my folks a dogged determination. My mother was indomitable, worked hard as hell. Writing a book, or writing a dissertation, takes persistence, sometimes in the face of big-time ambiguity and uncertainty. I think it was Virginia Woolf who said that the hardest part of writing is putting the seat of your pants onto the seat of the chair.
If I may, let me talk a little bit more about my forebears. My folks had little formal education, but they were terrific storytellers; I grew up hearing tales about the old days and the old country, full of vivid characters, and gestures and sound effects—all that. I think my exposure to those stories influenced my writing. Finally, I was immersed in the lives of immigrant, working-class people, so I absorbed a kind of knowledge—not book-based and not theoretical, but experiential—that I know affects the way I see the world and write about it.
Some of the types of work I observed—carpentry, for example—requires planning, thinking things through, and anticipating problems. A lot of the work—from hair styling to plumbing —also requires an attention to detail and being methodical. Waitressing or working in a shop or factory requires managing the flow of work—hugely important if you want to keep from being overwhelmed and exhausting yourself.
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