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The making of ‘proper’ homes: Everyday practices in migrant domestic work in Naples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2016

Lena Näre
Lena Näre*
Affiliation:
Sussex Centre for Migration Research, University of Sussex, UK
*
∗Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Changing from a country of emigration into one of immigration has been one of the major phenomena of Italian society in recent years. One of the realms where this has been most evident is in Italian households employing migrants for domestic service and care work. This article looks at domestic and care practices in the everyday life of a Neapolitan household. Based on participant observation conducted in Giuseppe's apartment, it shows how the traditional Neapolitan way of life can be maintained by employing a live-in worker. It discusses some of the contradictions and tensions involved in this kind of work, and, by looking at everyday life, it also questions depictions of vulnerable migrant workers at the mercy of their employers.

Keywords

migrationwelfare statedomestic workcare workhome
Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 2009 , pp. 1 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

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