Families, lovers, and their letters : Italian postwar migration to Canada / Sonia Cancian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cancian, Sonia, 1965- author.

Series:

Studies in immigration and culture series, 1914-1459 ; 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emigration and immigration--Social aspects.

Immigrant families.

Immigrants--Family relationships.

Italians.

Transnationalism.

Canada.

Italy.

Genre:

Personal correspondence.

Physical Description:

1 online resoruce (xiii, 192 pages) : map, portraits.

Place of Publication:

Manitoba, Canada : University of Manitoba Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

""From dust-covered basement boxes and trunks of ordinary people, here comes a path-breaking study of one of the most important migration movements of the postwar era. This is historical interdisciplinary analysis at its best, and certainly bound to make us discover or re-think the complex emotional universe that lies underneath a migration movement. A must reading for anyone interested in migration."--Bruno Ramirez, University of Montreal, author of Crossing the 49th Parallel, Migration from Canada to the United States, 1900-1930" ""A wise and insightful book. Cancian introduces us to voices that have never been heard before and she allows readers immersed in today's virtual communications to understand how writing on paper, too, could contribute to the achievement of dreams and the resolution of anxieties and longings."--Donna R. Gabaccia, Director, Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, author of Italy's Many Diasporas" "Families, Lovers, and their Letters takes us into the passionate hearts and minds of ordinary people caught in the heartbreak of transatlantic migration. It examines the experiences of Italian migrants to Canada and their loved ones left behind in Italy following the Second World War, when the largest migration of Italians to Canada took place.""In a micro-analysis of 400 private letters, including three collections that incorporate letters from both sides of the Atlantic, Sonia Cancian provides new evidence on the bidirectional flow of communication during migration. She analyzes how kinship networks functioned as a means of support and control through the flow of news, objects, and persons; how gender roles in productive and reproductive spheres were reinforced as a means of coping with separation; and how the emotional impact of both temporary and permanent separation was expressed during the migration process. Cancian also examines the love letter as a specific form of epistolary exchange, a first in Italian immigrant historiography, revealing the powerful effect that romantic love had on the migration experience."

Contents:

"Excuse the errors, I'm writing at night by oil lamp ..."

"Even though distance has now kept us apart ..."

"My dear, you will have nothing else to do but ..."

"My dearest love ..."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 172-186) and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed April 12, 2017).

Other Format:

Print version: Cancian, Sonia, 1965- Families, lovers, and their letters.

ISBN:

9786613090546

9781283090544

1283090546

9780887553028

0887553028

OCLC:

1320969434