American Studies Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2740
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Item Work and Social Activism in the Life Stories of Latina Domestic Workers(2012) Barreto Bebianno Simoes, Marcia; Freidenberg, Judith N; Caughey, John; American Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Since the 1980s, social science research has emerged on gender and immigration to the United States as a result, in part, of the pronounced increase in immigration to the US. It has documented the way in which immigration is changing the social fabric of US society as well as how gender roles are being positioned within society. Scholarship on Latino immigration and gender has also evolved throughout the past decades, providing much needed insight about migration outcomes for Latina immigrants and their effects on these women's situated roles. Consequently, scholars have focused their work mainly on Latinas in their host communities, as workers, family members and community organizers. Transnationalist theories have contributed to understanding how Latinas organize their lives across borders; however, work is still needed to understand how the perspective of the immigrant life cycle (defined as life in the country of origin, the process of migration and life in the host country) informs migration outcomes for immigrant Latina women. In order to contribute to this understanding, this study, using an ethnographic approach, looks at the life stories of five low-income Latina immigrant domestic workers activists in Montgomery County, MD, to document their experience and to understand the factors that influence their civic mobilization for their collective rights. The central research question is: What are the factors conducive to female immigrants' collective mobilization for human rights? More specifically, what are the factors in the women's life course that account for mobilization and what are the structural factors in the host country that support this effort? This ethnographic study contributes to the literature on domestic work and migration by examining the subjective aspects of the Latinas' experience as they evolve as activists and mobilize for their rights as workers, particularly from the perspective of identity formation across the immigrant life cycle. The study also shows that domestic work conditions are determined by the specific relationship between poverty, human mobility and gender at a local and national level.Item Beyond Scraps: Narrating Traumatic Health Experiences Through Scrapbooking(2010) Reynolds, Dawn M; Struna, Nancy; American Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)For centuries, women have served as the primary storytellers of domestic life. In volumes known as scrapbooks, women collect family snapshots and memorabilia for generations to enjoy. Traditional scrapbooking tends to highlight cheerful familial themes, such as weddings, births, and other life milestones. Contemporary online iterations of the age-old artform have begun publicly incorporating stories of traumatic health experiences. In this dissertation, I attend to the scrapbooking projects created by a selection of women who address personal health issues. I examine narrative and rhetorical strategies employed in health trauma scrapbooks, contending that women use the craft to preserve a sense of self while also publicly voicing social concerns. I combine feminist textual analysis and ethnographic-inspired observation to illustrate how scrapbooking comprises a form of knowledge production narrating women's collective wisdom about survival. The scrapbook projects I explore demonstrate techniques crafters use to manage cultural memories by reformulating their self-image as social change activists rather than as mere enthusiasts engaging in a trite hobby. This dissertation explores a selection of health concerns women raise through the craft, with a particular emphasis on breast-cancer themed scrapbooks. Applying breast cancer scrapbook pages as a case study, I illustrate how women deploy online scrapbooking in the service of health narration, thereby claiming a public voice about the illness experience. As I show in the final part of the dissertation, scrapbookers coalesce in activist communities, carving out a platform from which to press for social justice. I conclude by revealing ways that scrapbookers utilize the World Wide Web to facilitate health activism and public narration of traumatic health experiences. This dissertation is designed to elevate the place of contemporary scrapbooking in American Studies scholarship. Because the scrapbook has been both poorly preserved and grossly understudied, the earnest task of my project is to offer a useful model for analyzing women's trauma scrapbook pages that resonates for future scholars. I seek, above all, to raise awareness about the scrapbook as a relevant cultural artifact that contains richly contextual narratives of self and society.