“Our Club”: Place-Work and the Negotiation of Collective Belongingness

Abstract

This research examines the process by which vying social groups negotiate collective belongingness within contested space. At an American Legion veterans’ post, two factions—the Skeet Club and the New Regime—developed strong emotional attachments to the location. The Skeet Club consisted of ineligible townspeople who had illegally gained access to the post through the help of several legitimate members. For Skeet Club members, the post was a beloved social club where strong social bonds had developed over the course of many years. For the New Regime, the post was first and foremost a shrine to honor and assist military veterans. These divergent interpretations resulted in a process the author calls place-work, whereby members of the two factions struggled to establish a definition of the location that would allow their respective groups to feel that “we belong.” The four place-work strategies observed include (1) the presentation of group value, (2) deference to organizational culture, (3) spatial control, and (4) out-group intimidation. Through these strategies, “collective belongingness” was constructed, presented, and maintained as a resource in intergroup conflict. This study builds on the literatures regarding place, emotion, and intergroup conflict.