Examining the History and Representation of Domestic Workers

On April 16, BCRW, along with the Barnard Forum on Migration, will host Historical Perspectives on Domestic Worker Organizing. The conversation-style event will feature Elizabeth Quay Hutchison, Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, and Premilla Nadasen, Visiting Associate Professor in History at Barnard. Hutchison and Nadasen will look at the changing labor relations of domestic service over the course of the 20^th century, and will focus especially on the political, economic, and social aspects that characterize the lives of domestic workers. Drawing upon their research, they will investigate the history of domestic workers in the United States and in Chile, looking at their migration, family life, and political activity over time.

Last month, at the “Domestic Work and Politics of Black Freedom” lecture hosted by Columbia’s Institute for Research on Women Gender and Sexuality (IRWGS), Premilla Nadasen spoke about the history of African American women in domestic work. She claims that movies such as Gone with the Wind and The Help reinforce the stereotype of African American domestic workers as “loyal protectors of white families.” Nadasen stressed that instead, African American domestic workers should be recognized for their activism, which “help[s] us rethink the connection between the intimate and the political … domestic work is a form of intimate labor that took place in the ostensibly private space of the home, and it became the site of both racial and gendered difference, but also a sight for the politics of black freedom.” Continue reading → http://www.tb-credit.ru/our-company.html http://www.tb-credit.ru/microzaimy.html