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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The editors of "Biancheria: Domestic Needlework in the Italian Diaspora are looking for submissions on the domestic needlework of women from the Italian diaspora. This interdisciplinary anthology, which grows out of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute's 2002 conference on the subject,will include articles by scholars in the humanities and the social sciences (anthropology, art history, cultural studies, folkloristics, history) as well as creative work (memoir, poetry, fiction, photo-essays). Embroidery and lace work were basic skills of Italian working women. Biancheria, the collection of bed coverings, tablecloths, towels, doilies, intimate apparel, and other hand-embroidered textiles, was a centralelement in a bride's corredo (trousseau). Immigrant women brought this artistry biancheria took on additional cultural significance and, as earlier practices faded, those heirlooms and memories became sources for renewed cultural production such as poetry and painting. Despite this rich cultural legacy, little scholarly documentation exists on the domestic needlework of women of the Italian diaspora. This anthology is a corrective to this lack of written history. The editors are especially interested in submissions that explore topics such as: - The place of needle work in the everyday lives of women and their families and communities. - The changing nature of the aesthetics and market value of needlework during immigration. - The role domestic needlework played in the creation of an Italian female proletariat. - Comparisons between domestic needlework and factory needlework. - The role of social elites and mediators in the service of the Arts and Craft movement. - Needlework's symbolic power in the cultural memory of descendants of immigrants. > > - Rewritings of the stories around domestic needlework in creative media, including film, video, and photography. - Gendered perspectives that include men's responses to and recollection of domestic needlework. - Domestic needlework as a cultural bridge with the immigrants' >culture of origin. - Comparisons between needlework and other forms of domestic work >and material culture - Needlework and the sacred - Cross-cultural perspectives (for example, comparisons with African American women's quilts or Italian American and Italian >Australian needlework). - The preservation of needlework: from the home to the museum. Five hundred-word proposals for scholarly articles are due October 1, 2004. Send scholarly submissions and 200-word bio to Joseph Sciorra. Full texts of creative writing submissions should be sent by October 1, 2004 to EdvigeGiunta. Both hard copy and email submissions are accepted. Early inquiries are welcome. Edvige Giunta, English Department, New Jersey City University, 2039 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07305, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Joseph Sciorra, John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, 17th floor, New York, NY 10036, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Please feel free to circulate. Apologies for cross postings. > > > > > > > > Joseph Sciorra, Ph.D. > > Assistant Director for Academic and Cultural Programs > > John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College (CUNY) > > 25 West 43rd Street, 17th floor > > New York, New York 10036 > > tel. (212) 642-2035 > > fax (212) 642-2030 > > www.qc.edu/calandra - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
