Families, lovers, and their letters : Italian postwar migration to Canada

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  • Author: Cancian, Sonia
    Summary:

    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 ..." : postwar Italian migrants and their letters
    • "Even though distance has now kept us apart ..." : kinship across networks
    • "My dear, you will have nothing else to do but ..." : gender relations and dynamics
    • "My dearest love ..." : emotions at a distance.
    Genre: Canadian nonfiction, Discursive works
    Original Publisher: Winnipeg [Man.] , University of Manitoba Press
    Language(s): English
    ISBN:

    9780887553028

    ,

    0887553028

    ,

    0887557155

    ,

    9780887557156

    ,

    9780887550065

Details

Abstract

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.

Genre
Canadian nonfiction
Discursive works
Publisher (Source)

Winnipeg [Man.]

University of Manitoba Press

Not specified

Record