North African Women in France Gender, Culture, and Identity [Hardcover]

In recent decades more Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian women have immigrated to France than men, yet despite their increasing numbers first generation immigrant women are rarely the focus of research.In this sociological study, Caitlin Killian examines how Muslim women construct and manage their identities in the midst of a foreign culturewhat they hold on to from their countries of origin and what they decide to embrace in France, why some immigrant women cope better with challenges in their new country than others, and how they raise children who will one day be French. She demonstrates that these women engage in selective acculturation and highlights their ability to resist labels that do not fit with their self perceptions. These findings point to the flexibility of personal identity, even among visible minorities whose self-identification choices were previously thought to be highly constrained.A sociological study of the cultural choices and identity negotiation of North African women immigrants in France. This book is an important contribution to the study of North African immigration to France. In offering these women the opportunity to tell their own stories of migration and recount their struggles over 'adaptation' in France, Caitlin Killian does a great service to anyone interested in broad issues of immigration, incorporation, and the negotiation of gender categories in the larger Muslim world. In addition to the powerful first-hand accounts of te North African women immigrants, the book provides carefully researched informaiton and clear insight, both in the text and the extensive notes, into the immigrant presence and, more generally, into contemporary French culture...North African Women in Franceoffers something of value to a wide range of readers. Killian makes a worthy contribution to our understanding of first generation North African women who immigrated to France. She illuminates many aspects of the identity work they engage in, alÃ-