What items do we cherish? Which items do we pass on? Typically, an inheritance item may be attached to a monetary value. What if the object’s value is more in the form of palpable memory? Can the mundane domestic goods of a pot or colander speak of a mother or the alarm clock speak of a father? What resonates in the prosaic realm? This session will draw on autotopography (Gonzalez), the archive (Derrida), vibrant matter (Bennett), atmospheric attunements (Stewart) and thing theory (Brown).
What domestic goods speak to the heirs of Italian immigrants? How can we speak of intersectional identities in Italian immigrants’ children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren? The session will call upon the first (1900-1918), second (1950-1970) and third (1980-onwards) waves of Italian immigrants to Canada.
The goals of this session are to:
- Welcome papers addressing themes surrounding domesticity, domestic goods, and the archive,
- Create a network of scholars and community members interested in intersectional identity, memory, interiors, objects, clothing and keepsakes and to,
- Produce a visually creative anthology of domestic goods and narratives and to,
- To support a Call for Papers, a possible publication in a special issue of the journal Italian Canadiana, University of Toronto.
If you are interested in participating, please send a 350- word abstract and short bio before February 28, 2022.
ldicintio@ryerson.ca
https://canadianassociationforitalianstudies.org/Session-Proposals-2022