Dissertation Medal Winner 2024
Comacchio, my grandmother’s hometown, is a small Italian fishing village with a strong attachment to its neighbouring lagoon and beloved eel. Isolated by surrounding waters, the town relied on fishing for survival, letting the lagoon dominate its tales. This writing aims to narrate a story of the early 20th century that has been overshadowed until now; far from the lagoon, hidden within rapid hands working skeins of wool.
Research revealed the dominance of the textile industry, shaping a girl’s education and societal role. Analysing the chronological process of making a dowry, and considering how this made the girl, led to an argument about the spatial restrictions placed on working women and their socio-economic impact. Comacchio is analysed as a site of piece-making, not in factories but in different spatial typologies, ranging from the street, the home, the convent and the laboratory.
These practices are examined through a creative and critical piece of writing in which Anna-eel (part girl, part eel) retraces the steps of Comacchio’s seamstresses. Using interviews, archival research, and theoretical arguments, the writing situates itself within a socio-political context of waged labour and highlights the importance of filling the absence of women’s voices in archival and architectural records.
Tutor(s)
Edwina Attlee