Full Description
Since the time of the Grand Tour, the Italian region of Tuscany has sustained a highly visible American and Anglo migrant community. Today American women continue to migrate there, many in order to marry Italian men. Confronted with experiences of social exclusion, unfamiliar family relations, and new cultural terrain, many women struggle to build local lives. In the first ethnographic monograph of Americans in Italy, Catherine Trundle argues that charity and philanthropy are the central means by which many American women negotiate a sense of migrant belonging in Italy. This book traces women's daily acts of charity as they gave food to the poor, fundraised among the wealthy, monitored untrustworthy recipients, assessed the needy, and reflected on the emotional work that charity required. In exploring the often-ignored role of charitable action in migrant community formation, Trundle contributes to anthropological theories of gift giving, compassion, and reflexivity.
Contents
Acknowledgements
PART I: FRAMING CHARITY AND MIGRATION
Introduction
Chapter 1. A Civilized Journey
PART II: FORGING CHARITABLE COMMUNITIES
Chapter 2. Intimate Lives and the Art of Belonging
Chapter 3. Food, Community and Incorporation Work
Chapter 4. Ethical Engagement: Crafting Charitable Relations
PART III: THE MORAL WORK OF CHARITY
Chapter 5. 'Getting the Work Done', or an Ethos of Disinterested Equality
Chapter 6. Compassion and Empathy Without Understanding
Chapter 7. Accountability, Cynicism and Hope
Epilogue: Charity, Reflexivity, Belonging
Notes
Bibliography
Index
