Nathan Smith

• Position: Instructor
• Department: History and Philosophy
• Office Location: Building 86, Room 112D
• nsmith5@uwf.edu
• Campus: 850.474.2680

Biography

Smith’s research focuses on labor unionization in the post-war American South. His dissertation, entitled, “Whistle While You Work: A Labor History of the Disney Parks from 1955-2005,” examines labor conditions at Disney World and the service economy of the Sunbelt region in the late twentieth century more generally. This project challenges ideas about the limitations of southern unionization, revealing a dynamic workforce striving to expand U.S. labor protections to all industries. Simultaneously, he situates the narratives performed by these cast members at the “happiest place on Earth” in the broader context of the changing social and political conditions wrought by deindustrialization. In doing so, his work shifts the focus away from the declining power of unions in industries like auto manufacturing. Instead, he argues that growing sectors of the economy, such as service work, more accurately demonstrate the successes and limitations of unions over the last third of the twentieth century.