My new research examines how families transform and cope in the context of transnational capitalism and immigration. The Province of Prato (Italy), a historic textile district known for its Made in Italy "brand," hosts one of Europe's largest overseas Chinese communities. The research examines instances where Chinese workers in the textile industry encounter state officials concerning workplace health and safety conditions; the health and well-being of area residents; and the practice of sending of Chinese children back to China to be cared for by relatives. This research will investigate how family arrangements have shifted as a result of economic, political, and social transformations, thereby illuminating the cultural logics and values that emerge from encounters between workers and state institutions. Collaboration with IRIS, a Prato-based research institute, takes place at all levels: research design, data collection, data analysis, writing, and policy-making. A training component focuses on developing systematic approaches to qualitative data analysis, and findings will be disseminated through academic and public outlets. Contributions will also be made to an urban diversity management plan in the province. Research results will deepen understandings of emerging values and increase the possibilities for well-being in the context of globalization and immigration. A two-year grant from the National Science Foundation and an International Collaborative Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research are funding different aspects of this project. Beginning this summer Krause will conduct qualitative research on how families transform and cope in the context of transnational capitalism and immigration. The Province of Prato (Italy), a historic textile district known for its Made in Italy "brand," hosts one of Europe's largest overseas Chinese communities. Krause's research will examine instances where Chinese workers in the textile industry encounter state officials concerning workplace health and safety conditions; the health and well-being of area residents; and the practice of sending of Chinese children back to China to be cared for by relatives. This research will investigate how family arrangements have shifted as a result of economic, political, and social transformations, thereby illuminating the cultural logics and values that emerge from encounters between workers and state institutions. Collaboration with IRIS, a Prato-based research institute, will take place at all levels: research design, data collection, data analysis, writing, and policy-making. A training component focuses on developing systematic approaches to qualitative data analysis, and findings will be disseminated through academic and public outlets. Contributions will also be made to an urban diversity management plan in the province. Research results will deepen understandings of emerging values and increase the possibilities for well-being in the context of globalization and immigration. Professor Elizabeth L. Krause (anthropology) has been awarded a 2-year, $164,410 grant from the National Science Foundation for her project “Chinese Immigration and Family Encounters in Italy.” Beginning this summer Krause will conduct qualitative research on how families transform and cope in the context of transnational capitalism and immigration. The Province of Prato (Italy), a historic textile district known for its Made in Italy "brand," hosts one of Europe's largest overseas Chinese communities. Krause's research will examine instances where Chinese workers in the textile industry encounter state officials concerning workplace health and safety conditions; the health and well-being of area residents; and the practice of sending of Chinese children back to China to be cared for by relatives. This research will investigate how family arrangements have shifted as a result of economic, political, and social transformations, thereby illuminating the cultural logics and values that emerge from encounters between workers and state institutions. Collaboration with IRIS, a Prato-based research institute, will take place at all levels: research design, data collection, data analysis, writing, and policy-making. A training component focuses on developing systematic approaches to qualitative data analysis, and findings will be disseminated through academic and public outlets. Contributions will also be made to an urban diversity management plan in the province. Research results will deepen understandings of emerging values and increase the possibilities for well-being in the context of globalization and immigration. My current research Professor Elizabeth L. Krause (anthropology) was been awarded a 2-year, $164,410 grant from the National Science Foundation for her project “Chinese Immigration and Family Encounters in Italy.”
Articles
Sustainability 'Wars' in a New England Town (with Anurag Sharma), Futures (2012)
A research project into large group decision-making in a New England Town Meeting surprised us...
Fertility Politics as ‘Social Viagra’: Reproducing Boundaries, Social Cohesion and Modernity in Italy (with Milena Marchesi), American Anthropologist (2007)
Dangerous Demographies and the Scientific Manufacture of Fear, The Corner House (2006)
http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/
Encounters with ‘the Peasant’: Memory Work, Masculinity, and Low Fertility in Italy, American Ethnologist (2005)
The peasant in Italy has all but vanished as an exemplar of an economic way...
Books
Unraveled: A Weaver's Tale of Life Gone Modern, University of California Press (2009)
Deftly bridging literary conventions, this compelling work exposes the cultural origins of a quiet revolution...
A Crisis of Births: Population Politics and Family-Making in Italy (2005)
This book tells the story of one society's remarkable experience when Italians in the late...
Presentations
Carnival, a “Sold” Woman, and Wet Economies: Challenges of making peasants the subjects of history, Carnival King of Europe: Power, ritual and the people without history; in honor of Eric R. Wolf (1923-1999). (2009)
While conducting research on fertility decline and its historical and contemporary meanings, I came across...