Italian Women and International Cold War Politics, 1944-1968

Ac knowledgments

I very much enjoy research and writing, and I find the hours of both solitary work and engagement with the scholarly community to be fulfilling. Seeing my work published is always a thrill and brings to mind the many institutions, colleagues, friends, and family members who helped to make it happen. Of course, any errors or omissions remain entirely my own. Getting to Italy many times to complete my research would not have been possible without financial support from the Committee on Teaching and Faculty Development at Siena College, which awarded me summer research fellowships in 2007, 2009, and 2010. I also greatly benefited from the 2008 Barbieri Grant (Trinity College Research Grant in Modern Italian History) and a 2010 Bernadotte E. Schmitt Grant from the American Historical Association. While I was in Rome, Italy, my work was aided by the patience and competence of librarians and archivists at the Unione Donne Italiane, the Centro Italiano Femminile, the Lelio and Lisli Basso Foundation, the Gramsci Institute, the library of the International Women’s House, and the Paolo VI Institute as well as by the receptive staff and spaces of the American Academy of Rome and the Library of Modern and Contemporary History. The excellent library staff at Siena College secured many obscure titles for me, which allowed me to move forward on my research while in New York. My Siena College colleagues inspired me to achieve and maintain the high standards they exhibit in their own work. In particular, Laurie Naranch’s and Vera Eccarius-Kelly’s fiery feminist intellects kept me thinking about women and politics. Paola Bonissone worked with me to provide the best possible translations from the Italian. Bruce Eelman helped me to overcome my final bout of writer’s block and finish the manuscript. Colleagues outside Siena, especially Francisca De Haan, Leila Rupp, and Robert Shaffer, were generous with their time and shared Acknowledgments viii acknowledgments valuable research materials with me. Paul Breines has continued to mentor me ever since I was an inexperienced graduate student at Boston College . Helen Laville and Karen Garner made vital suggestions on the manuscript for Fordham University Press and were kind enough to share their identities with me so I could ask for clarifications. Fredric Nachbaur, Will Cerbone, and the Fordham University Press editorial board and staff offered welcome advice and assistance to see the book to publication. My family extended every possible form of moral and logistical support . I was reminded about the importance of life outside the women’s associations by my parents, Dave and Nita Pojmann; sister, Karen Pojmann ; and my niece and nephew, Asa and Eze. My kitty, Tiger, kept my lap warm while I wrote. My mother-in-law, Maria Livia Talucci, offered her hospitality and unconditional sweetness. My husband, Andrea Parigi, has patiently listened to me talk about the Unione Donne Italiane and the Centro Italiano Femminile since 1996 and is always my main source of encouragement. I dedicate this book to Giorgio Lombardi, whose gentleness and generosity helped it take shape in ways he may not have realized and whom I miss greatly. Italian Women and International Cold War Politics, 1944–1968 ...