| This dissertation examines the intricate connections between literacy and acculturation by looking at individual literacy practices of first-generation, non-English-speaking European-American immigrant women between 1835 and 1930. By comparing geographical regions (rural vs. urban) and historical periods (mid-nineteenth- to early twentieth century), this study explores the various contexts in which women acquired, developed, and used literacy in their first languages and in English. While during that time literacy functioned as a powerful social, ideological, and political tool of Americanization in the public spaces of the American environment, in the private, domestic, and work spaces inhabited by first-generation immigrant women, literacy functioned as a catalyst that helped them negotiate the practical and emotional aspects of the acculturation process. In general, for the women in this study, literacy promoted acculturation, at a more accelerated or at a slower pace, depending on the time period when they emigrated, on the areas of settlement, and on the impact of ethnic communities and American contexts on immigrants. Individual literacy practices, in their first languages or in English, informed by a number of variables, such as ethnicity and social class, allowed first-generation women to create cultural, ethnic, and generational bridges between the old world and the new and between themselves and their descendants. Women used these literacies in order to maintain the comfort of the first language, to preserve the ethnic culture, to gain social prestige and status in various communities, to facilitate the absorption of the new culture, and to leave a written cultural legacy for family members.;This dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter I offers an overview of the main immigration issues between 1850 and 1930, with particular emphasis on immigrant women's literacy. At the same time, this chapter discusses the most relevant literature regarding historical studies of literacy, sponsorship, and women's immigration experiences. Chapter II examines the European and American contexts navigated by the first-generation women in this study, mentioning their individual reasons for emigration and their levels of education in Europe. This chapter also points to various practical, emotional, and linguistic challenges that immigrant women encountered during their acculturation processes in America. Chapter III looks at specific instances of practical (domestic) literacy, individual literacy practices, and sponsorship (of acculturation and literacy) of first-generation immigrant women who settled in rural areas. From a comparative perspective, Chapter IV examines similar issues of acculturation, work patterns, literacy practices, and sponsorship of urban immigrant women. Finally, Chapter V draws conclusions about literacy use in different contexts and languages and makes connections with experiences of first-generation immigrant women in the twenty-first century. |
