Keeping It All Together: Changing Perspectives on Marriage, Family, and Career Among Older Italian Women By Láura Aguilar Milano Vares B.A., Brown University, 1993 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND MAY 2015 © Copyright 2015 by Láura Aguilar Milano Vares ! This dissertation by Láura Aguilar Milano Vares is accepted in its present form by the Department of Anthropology as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date _______________ __________________________ Marida Hollos, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date _______________ __________________________ Daniel J. Smith, Reader Date _______________ __________________________ Jessaca Leinaweaver, Reader Date _______________ __________________________ Vanessa Maher, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date _______________ __________________________ Peter Weber, Dean of the Graduate School ! iii Láura&AM&Vares& Box$1921,$Department$of$Anthropology,$Brown$University,$Providence,$RI$02912$ [email protected]$ $ Date&and&Place&of&Birth& • October$20,$1970;$El$Paso,$Texas$ $ Education& • Brown$University$–$Providence,$RI,$Anthropology,$PhD,$2015$ • Brown$University$–$Providence,$RI,$Anthropology,$MA,$2010$ • Johns$Hopkins$University$School$of$Advanced$International$Studies$U$$ $ Bologna,$Italy/Washington$DC,$International$Affairs,$MA,$1995$ • Brown$University$–$Providence,$RI,$International$Relations,$BA,$1993$ $ Dissertation& 2015,$Keeping'It'All'Together:'Changing'Perspectives'on'Marriage,'Family,'and'Career'among' Older'Italian'Women' $ Anthropology&Master’s&Thesis$ 2010,$Keeping'Up'Appearances:'The'Outsourcing'of'Eldercare,'and'Its'Implications'for'the'' Status'of'Italian'Women' $ Awards$$ 2014$–$2015$–$Dissertation$Write$Up$Fellowship,$Population$Studies$and$Training$Center,$$ Brown$University$ $ 2011$U$2012$–$Dissertation$Fieldwork$Fellowship,$Population$Studies$and$Training$Center,$$ Brown$University$ $$ 2010$U$Robert$Lemelson$PreUDissertation$Fieldwork$Fellowship,$Society$for$Psychological$$ Anthropology,$American$Anthropological$Association$ $ 2010$U$Andrew$W.$Mellon$PreUDissertation$Fieldwork$Fellowship,$Council$for$European$Studies,$$ Columbia$University$ $ 2008$U$Master’s$Thesis$Fieldwork$Grant,$Population$Studies$and$Training$Center,$$ Brown$University$ $ 2008$U$Master’s$Thesis$Fieldwork$Grant,$Graduate$School,$Brown$University$ $ 2007$–$2008$U$Eunice$Kennedy$Shriver$NICHD$(National$Institute$of$Child$Health$and$Human$ Development)$PreUDoctoral$Fellowship,$Population$Studies$and$Training$Center,$$ Brown$University$ & & & & & ! iv Appointments& Spring$2014$–$Graduate$Teaching$Assistant,$International$Health:$Anthropological$Perspectives,$$ Dr.$Amy$MoranUThomas$ $ Fall$2013$U$Graduate$Teaching$Assistant,$Culture$and$Human$Behavior,$Dr.$Marida$Hollos,$$ Department$of$Anthropology,$Brown$University$ $ Spring$2010$U$Graduate$Teaching$Assistant,$AIDS$in$Global$Perspective,$Dr.$Abigail$Harrison,$$ Department$of$Anthropology,$Brown$University$ $ Fall$2009$U$Graduate$Teaching$Assistant,$Culture$and$Human$Behavior,$Dr.$Marida$Hollos,$$ Department$of$Anthropology,$Brown$University$ $ Spring$2009$U$Graduate$Teaching$Assistant,$International$Health:$Anthropological$Perspectives,$$ Dr.$Daniel$J.$Smith,$Department$of$Anthropology,$Brown$University$ $ Fall$2008$U$Graduate$Teaching$Assistant,$Culture$and$Human$Behavior,$Dr.$Sarah$Chase,$$ Department$of$Anthropology,$Brown$University$ $ 2006$–$2007$U$Teaching$Associate,$Doctoring$Program,$Department$of$Family$Medicine,$$ Warren$Alpert$Medical$School,$Brown$University$ $ Papers& $ 2014$–$(accepted)$Going'It'Alone:'Claiming'Singleness'as'Progress'among'Older'Italian'Women,$$ Panel$member,$“Navigating$Life$(and$Death)$Through$Lenses$of$Gender$and$Power,”$$ American$Anthropological$Association$Annual$Meeting,$Washington,$D.C.,$December$3U7.$ $ 2014$U$Donne'Single:'Separation'and'Single'Life'Among'Older'Italian'Women,$Panel$member,$$ “The$Normative$European$Body:$The$Social$Impact$of$Gender$in$Europe,”$$ Council$For$European$Studies$Annual$Meeting,$Washington,$D.C.,$March$14U16.$ $ 2013$U$Autonomia'Alla'Italiana:'Aging'in'Uncertain'Times'for'Italian'Women'in'MidGLife,$$ Panel$member,$“European$Problems$and$Solutions:$Thinking$Beyond$Crisis,”$$ American$Anthropological$Association$Annual$Meeting,$Chicago,$IL,$November$20U24.$$ *same$title,$different$content$ $ 2013$U$Autonomia'Alla'Italiana:'Aging'in'Uncertain'Times'for'Italian'Women'in'MidGLife,$$ Panel$member,$“Learning$From$Episodes$in$Health$Policy,”$$ Council$for$European$Studies$Annual$Meeting,$Amsterdam,$The$Netherlands,$June$25U27.$ $ 2012$U$Cultivating'Vitality:'Examining'the'Experience'of'Aging'for'Italian'Women'in'MidGLife,$$ Panel$member,$“Gender$in$the$Political$and$the$Personal,”$$ Council$for$European$Studies$Annual$Meeting,$Boston,$MA,$March$22U24.$ $ 2008$U$Family'Ties/Family'Maintenance'G'Transference'of'Care'for'the'Elderly'in'Rome,'Italy,$$ Panel$member,$“Reconfiguring$Family$and$Social$Networks$in$Europe,”$$ American$Anthropological$Association$Annual$Meeting,$San$Francisco,$CA,$November$19U23.$ $ ! v Publications& 2012$U$Vares,$Laura,$A.M.,$“Cultivating$Vitality:$Examining$the$Experience$of$Aging$for$$ Italian$Women$in$MidULife.”$Perspectives$on$Europe,$Sponsored$Research,$$ Council$For$European$Studies,$42(1),$122U24.$ $ 2006$U$Williams,$J.,$Vares,$L.,$Brumbaugh,$M.,$“Education$to$Improve$Interdisciplinary$Practice$ $of$Health$Care$Professionals:$A$Pilot$Project.”$Medicine$and$Health/Rhode$Island,$89(9),$312U13.$$ $ Language&Skills& Spanish$(fluent)$ Italian$(fluent)$ & Synergistic&Activities& Summer$2015$(anticipated)$U$Instructor,$Introduction$to$Cultural$Anthropology,$$ PreUCollege$Summer$Program,$Office$of$Continuing$Education,$Brown$University$ $ Summer$2011$U$Teaching$Assistant,$Global$Development,$PreUCollege$Summer$Program,$$ Office$of$Continuing$Education,$Brown$University$ $ Summer$2010$U$Teaching$Assistant,$Global$Development,$PreUCollege$Summer$Program,$$ Office$of$Continuing$Education,$Brown$University$ $ 2008$–$2010$U$Writing$Center$Associate,$Brown$University$ 2009$–$2010$U$Mentor,$Mellon$Mays$Undergraduate$Fellowship$Program$ $ Graduate&Advisors& Dissertation'Committee$U$Dr.$Marida$Hollos$(Chair),$Dr.$Daniel$J.$Smith,$Dr.$Jessaca$Leinaweaver$$ Masters'Committee$U$Dr.$Marida$Hollos$and$Dr.$Daniel$J.$Smith$(CoUchairs),$Dr.$Keith$Brown$ ! vi Para ti mamá. Muchas gracias por ser una madre maravillosa y cariñosa. Te extrañamos mucho. ! vii ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I can’t begin to acknowledge all of the people that helped me realize this accomplishment. To my committee Marida Hollos, my Chair, and my readers, Daniel J. Smith and Jessaca Leinaweaver, I want to express a deep appreciation for staying the course with me. This would not have been possible without your continued support, which you patiently provided in countless ways. Thank you, as well, to Vanessa Maher, my external reader, for your insightful feedback. I would also like to thank the Population Studies Training Center, and its current Director, Leah VanWey for the continued financial support. It made a significant difference in my ability to finish my dissertation. The staff at the PSTC, Priscilla Terry, Ana Karina Wildman, Susan Silveira, and Tom Alarie, deserves great big thanks for all of your help with grant applications. I extend my gratitude to the current and former managers in our department, Kathy Grimaldi, Matilde Andrade, Mariesa Del Sesto, and Marjorie Sugrue. Thank you so very much for greeting me with a smile, and encouragement, even on the tough days. In the Graduate School, my heartfelt thanks go to Dean Brian Walton and Barbara Bennett for information, encouragement, and your efforts to help me at different challenging points during my tenure as a graduate student. Thank you also to Nicholas Townsend and David Lindstrom for being champions during an especially difficult period. I want to thank the friends I made during my time as a graduate student at Brown. You are all so brilliant. I feel so fortunate to have been lucky to cross paths with each of you. Stacey, Sohini, Andrea F., Susan, Andrea M., Inna, Yagmur, Coleman, Jenn A. – thank you for all of the one-to-one conversations, and encouragement on different occasions. There isn’t adequate space to thank others individually, but please know that my gratitude is without equal. This research would not have been possible without the cooperation of the women who are the subject of this dissertation. Grazie mille. Thank you for being so open about your lives. I feel truly privileged to have been entrusted with your stories. Thank you also to Paola Fano, and the rest of the Fano and Damascelli families in Rome, for your generous hospitality and willingness to help me make contacts for my study. Thank you to Mario and his daughter, Sara, for always asking if I needed anything and for providing warm, delicious meals for my family and me during our stay. Thank ! viii you to Elena for befriending me and being so fabulous. It was great to get away with a friend when work became overwhelming. In my family life, I owe a great debt to my mom and dad, Sara and Jose Aguilar, for instilling a love of learning in their children, and for expecting their children to be good citizens of the world. A giant thanks to all of my biological brothers and sisters – Cesar and family, Jose Luis, Heriberto, Francisco Javier and family, Margarita and family, Suzanna, and Sara. Thank