Space Agents: Anti-Racist Feminism and the Politics of Scale

Type of Work

Article

Date

2004

Journal Title

Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography

Journal ISSN

0966-369X

Journal Volume

11

Journal Issue

2

First Page

189

Last Page

204

DOI

10.1080/0966369042000218446

Abstract

This article discusses racialized politics among women in Turin, Italy, utilizing and expanding Neil Smith's concept of the spatial politics of scale specifically in relation to an anti‐racist organization, Alma Mater, that emerged during the early 1990s. International migration is relatively recent in Italy, and popular responses over the past decade have been both supportive and hostile. Overt and implicit expressions of racism and intolerance toward migrants have become apparent throughout the country. Migrant and Italian women have retaliated by engaging in a politics of space and scale to effect local and national labor and cultural practices. Through an examination of every day cultural–ideological practices and their links to broad political and economic processes I examine the relative success of Alma Mater in its ability to challenge scales and add to an understanding of the social production and reproduction of power relations at all scales.

Hamilton Areas of Study

Africana Studies

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