Dirty Work: Immigrants in Domestic Service, Agriculture, and Prostitution in Sicily

(Paperback)

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Dirty Work explores the lives and work of recent immigrants from Africa, Asia, and elsewhere to the southern Italian region of Sicily. Using extensive research, Cole and Booth focus on the experiences of foreigners employed in domestic service, prostitution, and agriculture. Investigation of these key sectors affords a revealing vantage point onto the place of Sicily in the increasingly international circuit of people, goods, practices, and capital. The book departs from the focus, common in immigration studies, on a single nationality or location by instead describing the experiences of foreigners of diverse origins in rural and urban areas. The Sicilian case epitomizes what is one of the most significant developments in contemporary Europe: the recent transformation of the South from labor exporter to immigrant destination. Probing the material foundations of the contemporary world,Dirty Work's clear and compelling presentation of timely themes should make it of interest to a broad readership, including students, scholars, and the interested public.

Reviews

This is a readable and incisive study of the lives of immigrants in Sicily, a place much better known for its emigrants. The authors innovate by focusing on farm labor, domestic service, and prostitution the "dirty work" immigrants are hired to perform rather than on specific ethnic or national groups. This approach succeeds in linking the stories of women and men who have come to Sicily in search of better lives to the often oppressive and exploitative structures of the global economy. Dirty Work is essential reading for anyone interested global migration and the changing cultures and economies of Italy and Europe. -- Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of New Orleans, David Beriss, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of New Orleans
Sicily has long been a sending region for migrants but now it is a new frontier for immigration. This book offers new and sometimes heart-wrenching insights into the dirty and dead-end work that immigrants perform, at great personal cost, in agriculture, domestic service, and prostitution. The emphasis on employment sectors rather than immigrant groups offers a refreshing perspective on the underbelly of the global economy. -- Caroline B. Brettell, Southern Methodist University

Author Bio

Jeffrey E. Cole is professor and chair of anthropology at Connecticut College. Sally S. Booth is an education consultant and independent researcher and writer.