Intimacy and Italian Migration
Gender and Domestic Lives in a Mobile World
Published on 1. December 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
245 pages
978-0-8232-3185-0 (ISBN)
Description
This provocative collection of essays adds a new dimension to our understanding of nation-building through its examination of the role of intimate cultural processes. First, by exploring the private lives of migrants from Italy through biography, oral history, and ethnography, these essays suggest why and how-across cultures-Italianness has come to be associated with a particular kind of femininity and supposedly distinctive elements of domestic life symbolized by long-held stereotypes of the Italian mother. On a larger scale, while the editors and contributors share with previous works on the Italian diaspora a keen interest in the imagining of nations across national borders, here they refocus our attention to the significance of the domestic, particularly the lives of individual men and women, their families, and the communities they loved-and left behind.
Reviews / Votes
"A multitude of eminently accessible, albeit primarily scholarly, perspectives under the umbrella of the concept of family and the role of women." -- -Maria Enrico Borough of Manhattan Community College "An invitation to the interpretive community of scholars of the Italian diaspora to engage, once and for all, in a discussion that is analytical to the core ... A mosaic of impressive intellectual exercises." -- -Anthony Tamburri Queens College "From Mazzini the asexual republican leader to Rudolph Valentino, Latin lover incarnate, and from kitchens to bedrooms, Intimacy and Italian Migration re-questions the ways in which national identities are constructed-from abroad and from the home. This innovative collection of articles compares everything from the Italian mother in Australia, Ireland, and Germany, to the 'translocal' practices of Italian emigrant families. Its strength lies in addressing both stereotypes and experience in the gendered construction of Italian identity around the world." -- -Nancy L. Green co-editor, with Francois Weil of Citizenship and Those Who Leave "... A solid collection of articles that break new ground. In contrast to traditional studies, this volume focuses on the translocal and transnational aspects of migration and places specific emphasis on how factors such as gender, questions of identity and the policies of nation-states affect, and are affected by, the everyday thoughts, decisions and life experiences of individuals." -Anthropological Forum From Italy as nation some 26 million migrant men and women left since 1870 to create in gendered lives many Italies across the globe. The paradigmatic essays in this volume analyze how they, with their children and grandchildren, defined translocal and transcultural intimate spheres and redefined processual belongings in highly personal and often contested family arenas. The authors offer fascinating perspectives on the lifetime trajectories of women and men in local-global-national communities. No future research on nations and societies may do less than this path-breaking synthesis edited by the top scholars in the field." -- -Dirk Hoerder Arizona State UniversityMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
330 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8232-3185-0 (9780823231850)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Loretta Baldassar is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Western Australia.
Donna R. Gabaccia is professor of history at University of Toronto and scholar of international migration, gender and food studies. She has written and edited fifteen books on U.S. immigration, migration in world history, and the history of the worldwide Italian diaspora.
Donna R. Gabaccia is professor of history at University of Toronto and scholar of international migration, gender and food studies. She has written and edited fifteen books on U.S. immigration, migration in world history, and the history of the worldwide Italian diaspora.