Gramsci, migration, and the representation of women's work : in Italy and the U.S

This book considers cultural representations of four different types of labor within Italian and U.S. contexts: stories and songs that chronicle the lives of Italian female rice workers, or mondine; testimonials and other narratives about female domestic servants in Italy in the second half of the twentieth century (including contemporary immigrants from non-western countries); cinematic representations of unwaged household work among Italian American women; and photographs of female immigrant cannery labor in California. These categories of labor suggest the diverse ways in which migrant women workers take part in the development of what Antonio Gramsci calls national popular culture, even as they are excluded from dominant cultural narratives. The project looks at Italian immigration to the U.S., contemporary immigration to Italy, and internal migration within Italy, the emphasis being on what representations of migrant women workers can tell us about cultural and political change. In addition to the idea of national popular culture, Gramsci's discussion of the social role of subalterns and organic intellectuals, the politics of folklore (or 'common sense') and everyday culture, and the necessity of alliance-formations among different social groups all inform the textual analyses. An introduction, which includes a reconsideration of Gramsci's theories in light of feminist theory, argues that the lives of subaltern classes (such as migrant women) are inherently connected to struggles for hegemony. A brief epilogue, on a lesser-known essay by photographer Tina Modotti, closes the discussion. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Women Workers, Migration, and a Gramscian Perspective 12 Chapter 01. Italian Rice Workers and National Popular Culture 44 Chapter 02. Migrant Domestic Labor and the Creation of Identity 62 Chapter 03. Work and the Italian American Home in Cinema 92 Chapter 04. “All Colors, All Religions, All United”: Women Workers in California’s Canneries 120 Epilogue: After Modotti 134 Bibliography 138 Index 150 About the Author 160 Examining films, literature, songs, and photographs with an emphasis on a feminist materialist interpretation, Producing Culture considers the representations of different kinds of labor historically performed by women in Italy and the U.S. in order to reassess dominant narratives about the history of Italy and of Italians in the United States. Examining films, literature, songs, and photographs with an emphasis on a feminist materialist interpretation, this work considers the representations of different kinds of labor historically performed by women in Italy and the US in order to reassess dominant narratives about the history of Italy and of Italians in the United States