The concepts of ritual and ritualization provide a powerful lens for understanding the experiences of the men and women who worked at J.A. Jones Construction building Liberty Ships during World War Two. Photographs selected from the Digital Library of Georgia’s Ships for Victory collection evoke the ritualization of the industrial war effort - whether capturing shift changes, ship christenings, or Christmas celebrations at the shipyard. In each of these instances, the reliance upon cultural symbols and meanings simultaneously normalized and celebrated the extraordinary circumstances under which these people worked and lived.

This digital exhibit consists of twelve pages that viewers may explore by selecting one of the images below or by using the navigation buttons above or below the main content on each page. The Home link will return viewers to this page.