In this Book
- Beyond Cannery Row: Sicilian Women, Immigration, and Community in Monterey, California, 1915-99
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: University of Illinois Press
- Series: Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Centennial Series
summary
Presenting a nuanced story of women, migration, community, industry, and civic life at the turn of the twentieth century, Carol Lynn McKibben's Beyond Cannery Row analyzes the processes of migration and settlement of Sicilian fishers from three villages in Western Sicily to Monterey, California--and sometimes back again.
McKibben's analysis of gender and gender roles shows that it was the women in this community who had the insight, the power, and the purpose to respond and even prosper amid changing economic conditions. Vividly evoking the immigrants' everyday experiences through first-person accounts and detailed description, McKibben demonstrates that the cannery work done by Sicilian immigrant women was crucial in terms of the identity formation and community development. These changes allowed their families to survive the challenges of political conflicts over citizenship in World War II and intermarriage with outsiders throughout the migration experience. The women formed voluntary associations and celebrated festas that effectively linked them with each other and with their home villages in Sicily. Continuous migration created a strong sense of transnationalism among Sicilians in Monterey, which has enabled them to continue as a viable ethnic community today.
McKibben's analysis of gender and gender roles shows that it was the women in this community who had the insight, the power, and the purpose to respond and even prosper amid changing economic conditions. Vividly evoking the immigrants' everyday experiences through first-person accounts and detailed description, McKibben demonstrates that the cannery work done by Sicilian immigrant women was crucial in terms of the identity formation and community development. These changes allowed their families to survive the challenges of political conflicts over citizenship in World War II and intermarriage with outsiders throughout the migration experience. The women formed voluntary associations and celebrated festas that effectively linked them with each other and with their home villages in Sicily. Continuous migration created a strong sense of transnationalism among Sicilians in Monterey, which has enabled them to continue as a viable ethnic community today.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- 2. Work and Identity
- pp. 35-56
- 3. Family, Conflict, Community
- pp. 57-74
- 4. Good Americans
- pp. 75-97
- Conclusion
- pp. 118-126
- Bibliography
- pp. 139-152
Additional Information
ISBN
9780252091902
Related ISBN(s)
9780252030581, 9780252073007
MARC Record
OCLC
811409483
Pages
184
Launched on MUSE
2013-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2005