Cinzia D Solari | University of Massachusetts, Boston (original) (raw)

Books by Cinzia D Solari

Polity Press, 2023

The Gender Order of Neoliberalism is Winner of the 2024 Immanuel Wallerstein Book Award, Politica... more The Gender Order of Neoliberalism is Winner of the 2024 Immanuel Wallerstein Book Award, Political Economy of the World System Section (PEWS) of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

What do mompreneurs, angry working-class men, and migrant domestic workers all have in common? They are all gendered subjects responding to the economic, political, and cultural realities of neoliberalism’s global gender order.

In this ambitious book, Radhakrishnan and Solari map the varied gendered pathways of a global hegemonic regime. Focusing on the US, the former Soviet Union, and South and Southeast Asia, they argue that the interconnected histories of imperialism, socialism, and postcolonialism have converged in a new way since the fall of the Soviet Union, transforming the post-war international order that preceded it. Today, the ideal of the empowered woman – a striving, entrepreneurial subject who overcomes adversity and has many “choices” – symbolizes modernity for diverse countries competing for status in the global hierarchy. This ideal bridges the painful gap between aspiration and lived reality, but also spurs widespread discontent.

Blending social theory, rich empirical evidence, and a multi-sited understanding of neoliberalism, this book invites all of us to question taken-for-granted knowledge about gender and capitalism, and to look to grassroots international movements of the past to chart the path to a fairer future.

On the Shoulders of Grandmothers won the 2020 Mirra Komavrsky Book Award from the Eastern Sociolo... more On the Shoulders of Grandmothers won the 2020 Mirra Komavrsky Book Award from the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS). Through in-depth interviews and ethnographic work with migrant grandmothers caring for the elderly in Italy and California and their adult children in Ukraine, On the Shoulders of Grandmothers investigates how migrant grandmothers built the “new” Ukraine from the outside in through transnational networks. By comparing the experiences of individual migrants in two different migration patterns—one a post-Soviet “exile” of individual women to Italy and the other an “exodus” of families to the United States—Dr. Solari exposes the production of new gendered capitalist economics and nationalisms that precariously place Ukraine between Europe and Russia with implications for the global world order. This global ethnography explains the larger context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Book Reviews by Cinzia D Solari

Journal of International Women's Studies, 2024

Recommended Citation Hübner, Jamin A. (2024) "Book Review: The Gender Order of Neoliberalism," J... more Recommended Citation
Hübner, Jamin A. (2024) "Book Review: The Gender Order of Neoliberalism," Journal of International Women's Studies: Vol. 26: Iss. 1, Article 24. Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol26/iss1/24

The Anthropology of East Europe Review, 2020

A strong contribution of this title is its attention to the transnational social fields that illu... more A strong contribution of this title is its attention to the transnational social fields that illuminate globalization from below in a powerful way, especially the ways in which the “restructuring of Ukraine’s institutions of family, labor market, economy, and even political structures are largely produced at the transnational level” (21). As Ukraine is enmeshed in the “redrawing of the contemporary map of Europe,” Solari calls readers to pay attention to the lives of people who are deeply engaged in the transnational social fields of exile and exodus, because their experiences demonstrate how exactly Ukraine is “being reinvented” (205). It is essential to have an accurate understanding of the global politics that have impacted and continue to impact arguably the most significant changes in Europe in the twenty-first century.

East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies, 2019

The book On the Shoulders of Grandmothers weaves stories of migration, love, longing, and loss th... more The book On the Shoulders of Grandmothers weaves stories of migration, love, longing, and loss through detailed ethnographic interviews in which the author herself plays an active role. The study questions what it means to be Ukrainian in a time of political change through a double marginalization in the labour market and in domestic roles. We see migration in one time period, and we see its fluidity, with push and pull factors determining migration routes and with laws and regulations that are constantly changing. I believe that this book makes a valuable contribution to the migration literature and would be of interest to scholars of Ukraine, gender, migration, and Eastern European-area studies and, generally, to any scholars who wish to explore the building of the Ukrainian nation by grandmothers from the ground up.

Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 2019

What makes this book unique is an eloquent style of linking migrant women’s captivating personal ... more What makes this book unique is an eloquent style of linking migrant women’s captivating personal narratives to the structural conditions and discursive frames of their transnational migration. [...] Yet another fresh research input is that even though Italy and the USA are presented as two popular and divergent destinations for the post-1990s emigration, the book’s most ‘relevant comparison [is] not between receiving sites’ (p. 9). Rather, Solari advances the conceptual tools of exile and exodus, to compare them with regard to ‘the structural dimension as well as the divergent gendered migrant subjects that are building the new Ukraine from the outside in’ (p. 8). Indeed, the disparities between exile and exodus are well captured in the book’s second and third questions: ‘Why [driven by similar motives and needs] did migrants in Italy feel they have been ‘forced’ into exile to the Italian ‘Gulag’, while migrants in California felt they had left for ‘voluntary’ exodus to the ‘Promised Land’ and how did this impact the behaviour of migrants? How do migrants in exile to Italy and exodus to California have different effects on Ukrainian nation-state building?’ (p. 3). Theoretical insights in this regard are convincingly developed by presenting rich ethnographic material through five narratives in the Italian exile (Part II, Chapters 2 and 3), and another five in the United States exodus (Part III, Chapters 4 and 5).

Contemporary Sociology, 2019

[This] is an excellent, beautifully written, and consistently conceptualized book that looks at t... more [This] is an excellent, beautifully written, and consistently conceptualized book that looks at the contemporary migration of middle-aged women from post-Soviet Ukraine. It takes readers on a masterfully structured trip steering between transnational ties linking migrants to their countries of origin and destination, the meaning of gender in different social and political contexts, and the role of female migrants in the nation-building process.

International Migration Review, 2019

Solari’s project is an excellent example of the usefulness of comparative studies set in various ... more Solari’s project is an excellent example of the usefulness of comparative studies set
in various migration contexts. The concepts of exile and exodus emerge from her
deep understanding of structural and discursive elements in both Ukraine as a sending
country and Italy and the United States as two very distinct destination countries.
Based on this insight, Solari develops a framework for understanding transnational
processes at the intersection between gender, nation-state building, and globalization.

European Journal of Women's Studies, 2018

Cinzia Solari charts a bold new course for her study of this post-socialist Ukrainian society in ... more Cinzia Solari charts a bold new course for her study of this post-socialist Ukrainian
society in transition, where motherhood is the cornerstone of its state-building process.
Based on an impressive number of 160 personal interviews in both Italy and the United
States, Solari has produced a compelling and beautifully written study of post-1991
Ukrainian mass migrations, with middle-aged women their most prominent driving
force. The author breaks new ground in treating the process as exile and exodus
respectively.

Review of On the Shoulders of Grandmothers by Cinzia D. Solari, 2019

On the Shoulders of Grandmothers can easily be enjoyed by academic as well as nonacademic audienc... more On the Shoulders of Grandmothers can easily be enjoyed by academic as well as nonacademic audience as the life stories hold the core of the book. At the same time, the book is not a simple discussion of the struggles and aspirations of Ukrainian grandmothers but rather a valuable source of riveting insights into the everyday life, and the changing moral and gender order, in the post-Soviet period. The clarity of Solari’s writing and the reflexive account of her dilemmas as a researcher makes the transnational, comparative data engaging and fluent. This work should be included in the shelves of various disciplines such as Gender and Women Studies, Global/ization Studies, and Transnational migration studies as well as Area Studies.

Papers by Cinzia D Solari

Conference papers – American Sociological Association, 2024

This report seeks to aid Cedarwood Public School (CPS) educators and administrators learn more ab... more This report seeks to aid Cedarwood Public School (CPS) educators and administrators learn more about the experiences of their trans and nonbinary high school students through a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with 22 trans and nonbinary Cedarwood residents 15-20 years old. Twenty participants were current Cedarwood High School (CHS) students, one was a recent alum, and one participant chose a private high school after attending CPS in earlier grades. The goal of this report is to (1) analyze existing CPS data from other equity studies highlighting LGBTQ+ experiences, (2) present the key themes that emerged from the interview data, and (3) offer possible ways forward that build on CPS’ work and care around DEI to increase trans and nonbinary students’ sense of belonging and access to learning and extracurricular activities at CPS. The suggestions offered in this report are supported by the interview data and the growing literature on trans kids’ experiences at school.

Russian-speaking homecare workers deploy two divergent discursive practices—professionalism and s... more Russian-speaking homecare workers deploy two divergent discursive practices—professionalism and sainthood—in understanding carework. These two meaning-making systems have consequences for how this work is performed and experienced by workers. Surprisingly, the division is not based on gender. Instead, immigration laws filter Jewish and Orthodox Christian immigrants from the former Soviet Union into two separate sets of resettlement institutions. The characteristics of these separate institutional settings shape the discursive tools available to these two groups leading Jewish refugees to deploy professionalism while Orthodox Christian immigrants deploy sainthood. These discursive practices impact gendered identities allowing workers in some cases to renegotiate hegemonic notions of masculinity and create new models of “feminine” caregiving.

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2014

Scholars of sending countries emphasise the role of economics in shaping state policies towards e... more Scholars of sending countries emphasise the role of economics in shaping state policies towards emigration. They argue sending states are converging around a set of discursive strategies that aim to facilitate the influx of remittances from emigrants. One such strategy uses discourses of cultural nationalism to celebrate emigrants as ‘heroes’ of the nation. Drawing on a state-sponsored media campaign and ethnographic data, I found the Ukrainian state does the opposite. It stigmatises its emigrants to both Italy and the USA as ‘prostitutes’ and ‘defectors’, respectively. However emigrants are differentially stigmatised. Emigrants to the USA are simply dismissed, but the Ukrainian state constructs migration to Italy as a shameful social problem. It does this even though emigrants to Italy send back significantly more remittances. Economic interests cannot explain Ukrainian state practices towards emigration. Instead, in the context of post-Soviet transformation, I suggest the Ukrainian state has prioritised the construction of a national identity. The state then constructs policy with an eye to cultural rather than economic outcomes. I argue the Ukrainian state actively stigmatises the migration to Italy because it poses challenges to the nation-building process, whereas the migration to the USA is peripheral to this key state concern.

American Behavioral Scientist, 2006

Conventionally, social scientists regard immigrant churches as settlement institutions with immig... more Conventionally, social scientists regard immigrant churches as settlement institutions with immigrant assimilation as their goal. This study of Ukrainian immigrants who flooded to Rome in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union enhances an understanding of the role of immigrant churches by revealing their place in transnational politics. The divergent projects of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church (UGCC) and the Russian Orthodox church (ROC) mediate relations between clergy and immigrant parishioners in Rome. The UGCC engages in an ethnonationalist project; priests see settlement practices as an opportunity to instill national and religious consciousness in Ukrainians expected to return and participate in constructing the new Ukrainian nation. By contrast, the ROC’s project is one of church revival and manifests itself in the politically charged building of a cathedral next door to the Vatican. Ukrainian parishioners are marginal and even detrimental to this political vision. ...

ingenere, 2023

https://www.ingenere.it/articoli/geopolitica-dell-omofobia Genere e guerra si intrecciano indisso... more https://www.ingenere.it/articoli/geopolitica-dell-omofobia
Genere e guerra si intrecciano indissolubilmente nell'analisi della sociologa Cinzia Solari, tra le massime esperte di Ucraina ed ex-Urss, che individua nell'attacco di Putin la promessa globale di una nuova modernità, fondata sulla salvaguardia della maschilità virile e omofoba

Footnotes, 2023

https://www.asanet.org/footnotes-article/gender-modernity-and-russias-war-on-ukraine/ In times... more https://www.asanet.org/footnotes-article/gender-modernity-and-russias-war-on-ukraine/

In times of war, gendered analyses—already marginalized in geopolitical thinking—are often seen as superfluous. When I am asked as a feminist sociologist with regional expertise on Ukraine and the former Soviet Union (FSU) to comment on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, my interlocutors expect me to talk about women, first as victims and then as empowered resistors. However, I suggest the gendered lens reveals that Russia’s war on Ukraine is a significant part of an oppositional “modernity of manliness” project that—despite Western media representations of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a lone dictator who might be mad—is offering a world vision that appeals to many in disparate locales.

IMISCOE Research Series, 2016

Current Sociology, 2018

Although migration scholars have called for studying both ends of migration, few studies have emp... more Although migration scholars have called for studying both ends of migration, few studies have empirically done so. In this article the author analyzes ethnographic data conducted with migrant careworkers in Italy, many undocumented, and their non-migrant children in Ukraine to uncover the meanings they assign to monetary and also social remittances defined as the transfer of ideas, behaviors, and values between sending and receiving countries. The author argues that migrants and non-migrant children within transnational families produce a transnational moral economy or a set of social norms based on a shared migration discourse – in this case, either poverty or European aspirations – which governs economic and social practices in both sending and receiving sites. The author found that these contrasting transnational moral economies resulted in the production of ‘Soviet’ versus ‘capitalist’ subjectivities with consequences for migrant practices of integration in Italy, consumption pr...

Polity Press, 2023

Journal of International Women's Studies, 2024

The Anthropology of East Europe Review, 2020

East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies, 2019

Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 2019

Contemporary Sociology, 2019

International Migration Review, 2019

European Journal of Women's Studies, 2018

Review of On the Shoulders of Grandmothers by Cinzia D. Solari, 2019

Conference papers – American Sociological Association, 2024

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2014

American Behavioral Scientist, 2006

ingenere, 2023

Footnotes, 2023

https://www.asanet.org/footnotes-article/gender-modernity-and-russias-war-on-ukraine/ In times... more https://www.asanet.org/footnotes-article/gender-modernity-and-russias-war-on-ukraine/

IMISCOE Research Series, 2016

Current Sociology, 2018

On the Shoulders of Grandmothers: Gender, Migration, and Post-Soviet Nation-state Building, Ch 1, 2017

Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews

Current Sociology, 2019

Although migration scholars have called for studying both ends of migration, few studies have emp... more Although migration scholars have called for studying both ends of migration, few studies have empirically done so. In this article the author analyzes ethnographic data conducted with migrant careworkers in Italy, many undocumented, and their non-migrant children in Ukraine to uncover the meanings they assign to monetary and also social remittances defined as the transfer of ideas, behaviors, and values between sending and receiving countries. The author argues that migrants and non-migrant children within transnational families produce a transnational moral economy or a set of social norms based on a shared migration discourse-in this case, either poverty or European aspirations-which governs economic and social practices in both sending and receiving sites. The author found that these contrasting transnational moral economies resulted in the production of 'Soviet' versus 'capitalist' subjectivities with consequences for migrant practices of integration in Italy, consumption practices for migrants and their non-migrant children, and for Ukraine's nation-state building project.

Sociology Compass, 2015

Notions of “empowered women,” promoted by NGOs, economists, and feminists beginning in the 1970s,... more Notions of “empowered women,” promoted by NGOs, economists, and feminists beginning in the 1970s, do not necessitate a countervailing notion of “failed patriarchs.” However, our review of the feminist literatures on globalization, development, and migration in the United States, the former Soviet Union, and South Asia suggests that discourses of empowered women and failed patriarchs are fused in the specter of the “reverse gender order.” A presumption of this new order is that global capitalism has liberated women to such an extent that they have surpassed men who are now the truly “disadvantaged.” Drawing on these literatures as evidence, we argue that the large-scale incorporation of poor and working-class women into global capitalism relies upon an ideology of the family that keeps women's labor “cheap” and draws support from the feminist idea that work is empowering for women. Diverse nationalisms uphold the ideology of the family as central to capitalist expansion, providing culturally resonant justifications for women's unpaid reproductive work, while men are breadwinners. Thus, poor and working-class men experience a painful dissonance between breadwinning expectations and economic opportunities. We show that these tensions between ideologies and material conditions make women's responsibility for reproductive work a structural feature of neoliberalism.

The Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2014

Scholars of sending countries emphasise the role of economics in shaping state policies towards e... more Scholars of sending countries emphasise the role of economics in shaping state policies towards emigration. They argue sending states are converging around a set of discursive strategies that aim to facilitate the influx of remittances from emigrants. One such strategy uses discourses of cultural nationalism to celebrate emigrants as ‘heroes’ of the nation. Drawing on a state sponsored media campaign and ethnographic data, I found the Ukrainian state does the opposite. It stigmatises its emigrants to both Italy and the USA as ‘prostitutes’ and ‘defectors’ respectively. However emigrants are differentially stigmatised. Emigrants to the USA are simply dismissed, but the Ukrainian state constructs migration to Italy as a shameful social problem. It does this even though emigrants to Italy send back significantly more remittances. Economic interests cannot explain Ukrainian state practices towards emigration. Instead, in the context of post-Soviet transformation, I suggest the Ukrainian state has prioritised the construction of a national identity. The state then constructs policy with an eye to cultural rather than economic outcomes. I argue the Ukrainian state actively stigmatises the migration to Italy because it poses challenges to the nation-building process, whereas the migration to the USA is peripheral to this key state concern.

Migrant Marginality: A Transnational Perspective edited by P. Kretsedemas, J. Capetillo-Ponce, and G. Jacobs. New York: Routledge, 2013

This is a methods piece that argues for the importance of both a global and gendered lens for mig... more This is a methods piece that argues for the importance of both a global and gendered lens for migration studies.

Mapping Difference: The Many Faces of Women in Ukraine, edited by Rubchak, Marian J. New York: Berghahn Books, 2011

Gender & Society, 2006

Russian-speaking homecare workers deploy two divergent discursive practices—professionalism and s... more Russian-speaking homecare workers deploy two divergent discursive practices—professionalism and sainthood—in understanding carework. These two meaning-making systems
have consequences for how this work is performed and experienced by workers. Surprisingly, the division is not based on gender. Instead, immigration laws filter Jewish and Orthodox
Christian immigrants from the former Soviet Union into two separate sets of resettlement institutions. The characteristics of these separate institutional settings shape the discursive tools available to these two groups, leading Jewish refugees to deploy professionalism while Orthodox Christian immigrants deploy sainthood. These discursive practices affect gendered identities, allowing workers in some cases to renegotiate hegemonic notions of masculinity and create new models of “feminine” caregiving.