Placing Identity: Place as a Discursive Resource for Occupational Identity Work Among High-Tech Entrepreneurs

In a globalized world, place may play a much larger role in shaping occupational identities than scholars realize. Rather than serving as mere context in which identity work is conducted, cities, states, and regions are highly influential in shaping various parts of identity. This study of high-tech entrepreneurs in a city in the Rocky Mountain West of the United States shows that place was significant for framing identity narratives related to occupation. In addition, place helped to frame and organize other discursive resources for identity work such as gender, class, and race. This study highlights the ways in which attention to place can (a) surface important contemporary discursive resources for identity work, (b) allow scholars to see how aspects of complex identities are organized, and (c) show how the material, geographic world shapes the ways in which people socially construct their identities.