ABSTRACT
In the West men are producing coal and coal is producing men. The tools, methods, and organization of coal development have dictated that the environmental, economic, and social impacts will be considerably different than in the past. This chapter explores ways in which ethnographic techniques can be combined with other materials including historical and analytic research in a media document reflecting an understanding of the social impact of coal production in the West. It is concerned with developing a self-evaluating methodological approach, useful in the exploration of historical, technological and social issues-a method of inquiry continually directed back on itself. The chapter utilizes media not only as a means of explication, but also as a methodological tool in order to develop a unique approach to an emergent area of sociological concern. By using media to capture essential historical features and to render than within the modern framework, it becomes possible to mediate the vertical and horizontal dimensions.
