Survival, camraderie and aspirations: the intimate lives of Chinese and Vietnamese women in Melbourne's 1990s textiles industry
Citations
Altmetric
Author
Lu, VivianDate
2019Affiliation
School of Historical and Philosophical StudiesMetadata
Show full item recordDocument Type
Honours thesisAccess Status
This item is embargoed and will be available on 2023-01-14. This item is currently available to University of Melbourne staff and students only, login required.Description
© 2019 Vivian Lu
Abstract
This thesis examines the working subjectivities of female Chinese and Vietnamese textiles workers in 1990s Melbourne, with a particular focus on raced and gendered agencies. While traditional labour historians elucidate worker resistance through protest and trade union dynamics, such a framework does little to account for the 'hidden' agency of migrant workers who were outwardly circumspect and forbearing. Drawing extensively on oral history interviewing and diasporic memory, this thesis takes a ‘history from below’ approach and hones in on the intimate, personal dimensions of garment factory work that were central to the contestation of power. In doing so, it demonstrates how persistence and tacit expressions of resistance in the workplace amongst Chinese and Vietnamese textiles workers were located in interpersonal factory relationships, class aspirations and motherhood.
Keywords
diaspora; labour history; textiles workers; migration; chinese migrants; vietnamese migrants; female workers; textiles industry; melbourne; oral history; working class; migrant labour; trade union; australian migration; australian history; migration historyExport Reference in RIS Format
Endnote
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".
Refworks
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References