Factory Daughters: Gender, Household Dynamics, and Rural Industrialization in Java [Paperback]

Diane Lauren Wolf (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520086570 | ISBN-13: 978-0520086579 | Publication Date: June 9, 1994

Taking the reader inside the households where Javanese women live and the factories where they labour, Diane Wolf reveals the contradictions, constraints and changes in women's lives in the Third World. She debunks conventional wisdom about the patriarchal family, while at the same time clearly identifying the complex dynamics of class, gender, agrarian change and industrialization in rural Java. "Factory Daughters" is distinguished by wide-ranging fieldwork in Java and a combination of narratives, rigorous surveys and quantitative analysis. In bringing us the words of many Javanese women, Wolf is able to vividly portray the ways they negotiate employment, income and marriage decisions through the webs of family obligations. The result is an original, effective contribution that deepens our understanding of industrialization and family life in the Third World.

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (June 9, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520086570
• ISBN-13: 978-0520086579
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > History > Asia > Indonesia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insights into Industrialisation in java, March 27, 2000

By 

Bron (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Factory Daughters: Gender, Household Dynamics, and Rural Industrialization in Java (Hardcover)

Diane Wolf tackles a complex area with style. Her objective presentation of the impacts on women (and their families) of the increasingly industrialised Java provides the reader with a wealth of information without overuse of terminology from either the developmental or feminist schools.

Her consistent concentration on Java, recognising the diversity of Indonesia and the danger of generalising the numeorus ethnic groups, gives strength to her research, as does an overview of the methodology which illustrates the time Diane committed to the region in completing her study.

The use of 'real people', and their stories, brought a personal touch to the book, allowing the reader to appreciate the reasoning behind many of the decisions and actions of the women involved.

An interesting and informative book that I was able to read from cover to cover, but also able to refer to sparodically for specific information.