From Working Daughters to Working Mothers: Immigrant Women in a New England Industrial Community

Since World War II, an important transformation has occurred in American society as wives and others have increasingly taken jobs outside the home. American women has always worked, however - first almost solely in the home and later also as wage earners outside the home. Anthropologist Louise Lamphere here provides an analysis of both kinds of work and shows how they have been interconnected in the lives of women in the industrial community of Central Falls, Rhode Island. 'From Working Daughters to Working Mothers' offers a dynamic picture of working-class women, one that sees them not as passive victims but as active agents who draw upon a range of strategies and behaviors both to deal with their employment and to help their families cope with the industrial order. The book will be engaging reading for anthropologists, social and labor historians, sociologists, political economists, and students of women's studies. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs; maps; tables; and figures. Includes Bibliography, Appendices, and Index.