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How Can an Oppressed Social Group Gain the Right to Participate in a Field : An Investigation of First Nations in the Canadian Gambling Field
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- Author / Creator
- Lu, Chang
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Prior research on organizational fields has suggested that the arrival of new actors is an important exogenous source of field change, as it can trigger the transformation of field boundaries, governance, and the distribution of power and interests. However, a majority of studies tend to focus on powerful, dominant actors as new entrants, such as corporations, professional associations, and government entities. In this dissertation, I shift the focus to oppressed social groups, and explore how oppressed groups can gain the right to participate in mature fields. Specifically, I draw from the literature on tensions within oppressed groups, regulative institutions, and stigma, (as most, if not all, oppressed groups carry stigma, and stigma often plays the role of a barrier to social inclusion), and investigate how oppressed groups overcome the hurdles of intra-group tension, existing field-level regulative institutions, and stigma when attempting to participate in mature fields. Adopting a qualitative historical design, I investigate how First Nations—an indigenous population whose ancestors are predominately indigenous—gained the right to participate in the Canadian gambling field. My interpretative analysis of documents and interview data, supplemented by understandings of indigenous culture, history, and worldviews, reveals that oppressed groups may engage in three overarching processes to accomplish field participation: forging in-group consensus, regulative maneuvering, and resourcing stigma. This study contributes to the field literature by revealing a “bold” pathway by which actors with low resources and power accomplish purposeful actions in mature fields. It also highlights how adhering to or promoting a stigmatized identity, rather than acculturating to the mainstream, can support this process. In addition, this study shows that the arrival of new actors may result in the expansion of field boundaries but field governance may remain intact. Overall, this study contributes to the stigma literature by demonstrating how social groups can use stigma as a resource, and how stigma that is neither concealable nor revealable can be managed. Further, this study sheds light on how those at the bottom of society can address social inequality through self-initiated measures.
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2019
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
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- License
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