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This paper examines the use of metaphors to construct Italian migration within the 1920s Australian press. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, the paper investigates the range of metaphors used to frame Italian migration, which were also applied to Asian migration in earlier decades. It finds that such metaphors were a racially coded means for constructing immigrant deviance and threat. It further finds that this threat construction was the means by which immigration restrictions were legitimised and the need to preserve White Australia reiterated. While there was some ambivalence as to the extent of danger posed by Italian immigration, the use of such metaphors to frame discussion illustrates the extent to which debates around Italian immigration were, at heart, anchored in ideas of race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the content of the editorial commentary in the Melbourne-based commercial Italian-language newspaper Il Globo from 1979 to 1989 and argues that throughout the period under examination it consistently maintained a proactive role for, and on behalf of, the Italo-Australian community. A longitudinal study on selected editorials written by then editor-in-chief Nino Randazzo shows that the newspaper lobbied relevant authorities and Australian governments alike on issues that mattered most to the Italian community, especially those related to domestic politics, migrant settlement and immigration. Using a content analysis methodology, the editorials were categorised into commonly emerging themes, highlighting the extent to which the newspaper commented on issues that affected the rapidly changing Italo-Australian community which experienced an important demographic shift from being predominantly Italian-born to increasingly Australian-born. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper discusses the concept of "double absence" and its legacy across three generations of participants. It seeks to illustrate the impact of this cognitive condition in relation to participants' personal, interactional, and institutional social fields. Specifically, the study attempts to frame a reflexive picture extrapolated from participants who in their narratives deliberately reported certain incidents that might have shaped, diachronically, their ethnic identity across generations. In particular, the paper focuses on how the first generation of participants manifests a condition of feeling "absent" which appears to be twofold: from the country of origin and from Australia. The second generation, in turn, appears to present a condition of liminality, originated through growing up between two worlds (the one of their immigrant parents and the Australian one). The third generation, because of a perceived positive evaluation of their ethnic background from the "dominant" society, appears to manifest their ethnic identity openly. A pivotal role seems to be played by the amount of cultural capital accumulated by individuals and their perceptions of what Gramsci would call the senso comune , the "common sense" of the dominant society, which might shape individuals' ethnic identity: specifically, their positionality, in terms of their ethnic perceptions of "being in the world." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article it is my intention to present some of the findings of my PhD research, in which I have considered Italian migrants’ material and discursive practices about the body, through the analysis of a corpus of more than 1,000 original letters written by Italian migrants to Lena Gustin, the editor of two columns in the Italian Australian-language newspaper La Fiamma. The specific focus of this article is on letters written by Italian migrant women in which a psychological discomfort or a psychiatric disorder was expressed. Many of these women wrote more than one letter over a span of two or more years. Despite important events in their lives, such as pregnancy and divorce, or admission to or release from a psychiatric hospital, they essentially continued to repeat the same discourse in every letter, as if they were trapped in a situation from which it was impossible to escape — as if nobody was actually listening to what they were trying to say. This paper is an attempt to give back a voice to some of these women through my own personal and theoretical approach to their histories of madness and abjection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper documents a study that aimed to discover the meaning of leisure experiences for an ageing Italian community in a large regional centre in Victoria, Australia. Methods: This qualitative investigation used a phenomenological study design, and data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 well-elderly Australian Italians. Results: Participants engaged in numerous leisure occupations that were meaningful to them and directly impacted on positive subjective experiences and health outcomes. Conclusion: This paper adds to an understanding of how leisure impacts on the health of well-elderly Australians and how occupational therapists can use leisure effectively in interventions for successful ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rather than focusing on how Italians share the neighbourhood with other groups, this paper examines some of the intra-group processes (i.e. relations between Italians themselves) that produced various monuments to Italian migration in Australia, Brazil and Italy. Through their distinct styles and formulations, the monuments reflect diverse and often competing elaborations of the migrant experience by different generations at local, national and transnational levels. The recent increase in the construction of such monuments in Australia is linked to the gradual disappearance of ‘visibly’ Italian neighbourhoods. These commemorations effectively transform Italian migrants into Australian pioneers and, thus, resolve moral and cultural ambiguities about belonging and identity by de-emphasizing difference (ethnic diversity) and concealing intergenerational tensions about appropriate ways of expressing Italianness. Similarly, the appearance of monuments in Italy is linked to an emergent ‘diasporic’ consciousness fuelled by Italian emigrants’ growing ability to travel to Italy, but also to the attempt to obscure potentially destabilizing dual identities by emphasizing (one, Italian) ‘homeland’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines new evidence on Italian chain migration to Australia. General theories stressing social and cultural differences between Northern and Southern Italians are challenged. The argument is in two parts. The first involves a critique of the idea of Southern Italian amoral familism, based on evidence of convergence between Northern and Southern patterns of chain migration and settlement. This finding is corrosive both of Banfield's work on Southern Italian family structure, and Putnam's more recent representation of Southerners as inescapably locked into cultural structures that militate against mutual aid and trust. In the second part of the argument an attempt is made to locate patterns of social exchange evident in the chain migration process. Models of reciprocity are rejected in favour of notions of sponsorship as a non-reciprocal gift among family, friends and paesani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we analyze the formation of different identity models of Italian young people experiencing mobility. The article contributes to study the link between youth mobility and identity. It does so through the development of a theoretical perspective that combines Butler's post-structuralism with Bourdieu's category of embodied cultural capital. Drawing on this theoretical framework, we analyze the identity formation of young Italians who emigrated to Australia in the last 10 years. The data show the emergence of an identity made up of a complex set of interconnected levels, composed of an incorporated dimension that constitutes the basis of their roots and the performative part that represents the mobile dimension subject to transformation in the course of life evolution. This interpretative lens enables the understanding of how the process of incorporation is connected to the performative and self-transformative one of identity, but also how the different combination of fixed and mobile aspects defines different profiles of identity and a different way of perceiving being Italians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives a brief account of the social impact and ramifications of civilian internment on Italian migrants who lived in Australia during World War Two. Several examples of internee experiences are presented including a case study of Giuseppe (Joe) Monzeglio, a sugarcane cutter from Queensland whose story is one amongst three thousand Italian internees who were detained at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. Joe's internment experiences were common to many of the hardworking Italian migrants who lived in Australia trying to make a new life for themselves and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the relation between gender, sex and identity in the context of Italian migration to Australia, between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, through the analysis of a series of letters written by migrants to Lena Gustin, the editor of two columns for the Italian newspaper in Australia La Fiamma. The first part of the article focuses on ethnic moralism, ethnic misogyny and the generational gap between Italian migrants and their children. The second part argues that sexual fantasies and dilemmas played a central role in the everyday life of migrants, and in the elaboration of their sexual and ethnic identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the literature on second-generation migrants by examining the construction of ethnicity (Italianitá) over time. We compare two cohorts of second-generation Italian-Australians: the post-World War II cohort and the post-1980s cohort. Ethnographic data for this research were collected with second-generation Italian-Australians in Perth over a thirty-year period. Our findings highlight important differences between these two groups based on socio-historical context and transnational experiences. Informants draw on these differences to distinguish between "wog" vs. "cosmopolitan" forms of Italianitá. While these contrasting identities highlight cultural discontinuities between cohorts, both groups construct their ethnicity through the trope of the Italian migrant family. Employing the theoretical notions of "intimate culture" and "familial habitus" we theorize family as integral to conceptualizations of ethnic field and show how it has been overlooked and devalued in analyses of diaspora politics and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an ethnographic exploration of a seldom-discussed 'micro' dimension of transnational studies, the practices of long-distance family relations and aged care. The importance of time as a key variable in transnational research is demonstrated through comparisons of the care exchanges of three cohorts of Italian migrants in Australia and their kin in Italy. A focus on 'transnationalism from below', the more quotidian and domestic features of transmigrant experience, highlights the importance of considering the role of homeland kin and communities in discussions of migration. The analysis of transnational care-giving practices illustrates that migrancy is sometimes triggered by the need to give or receive care rather than the more commonly assumed 'rational' economic motivations. Transnational lives are thus shaped by the 'economies of kinship', which develop across changing state ('macro'), community ('meso') and family migration ('micro') histories, including, in particular, culturally constructed notions of 'ideal' family relations and obligations, as well as notions of 'successful' migration and 'licence to leave'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Altreitalie is the property of Centro Altreitalie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article highlights a divergence between equivalent cultural practices undertaken by Calabrians in Italy and by individuals originating from Calabria living in Australia. It offers a reflexive framework on identity and authenticity. Previous research on a group of Calabrian-Australian families living in Australia found a widespread feeling among participants that they were 'more Italian' than the Italians who live in Italy. On the other hand, similar claims were made in Italy, during a brief period of fieldwork in Calabria among the 'sedentaries' (those who did not emigrate). Data show differences between the modus operandi of equivalent cultural practices among the participants in Adelaide and in Calabria and a divergence in participants' perceptions of ethnic identity and authenticity. In proposing the terms 'Archetype village' and 'Alter Ego village' to refer respectively to the migrants' village of origin and their community overseas the article examines notions of authenticity utilising socio-anthropological theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between the 1920s and the 1950s, hundreds of thousands of Italians emigrated to Australia, with fewer restrictions placed upon them than other continental European migrants. However, Italian migrants, especially from southern Italy, were often seen as 'undesirable'. This was due to both their ethnicity and the view that Italians were attracted to extreme political ideologies, such as Fascism and communism. This combination led the Australian authorities to treat Italian migrants as a'suspect community', which meant prolonged surveillance of Italian communities, as well as efforts to prevent entry, deny citizenship to or deport certain undesirable individuals. The policing of Italians in Australia intensified in the Second World War, which resulted in many being interned, regardless of political affiliation. But at other times, the political persuasion of the Italian migrants did play apart in how they were viewed by the authorities, with communists being monitored more heavily in the 1920s and 1950s and fascists being the focus in the 1930s and 1940s. This article looks at the shifting undesirability to Italian political activists in Australia over four decades and how ethnicity alongside ideology informed their policing by the authorities across several periods of political upheaval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a part of a larger project on the prevalence of intermarriage in Australia based on an analysis of census data. The primary aim of the article is to identify the extent of intermarriage between Italian-born migrants, people born in Australia and other birthplace groupings. The analysis focuses on the pattern of Italian intermarriage in Gippsland in order to demonstrate that the incidence differs from that in urban areas of Australia. Gippsland is a rural region in south-eastern Australia where the economy is based on brown coal power generation, a paper mill, timber extraction and dairying. Intermarriage in Gippsland will be compared with another rural area within the same state of Victoria and with the urban area of Melbourne. The rural area chosen for comparison with Gippsland was the statistical division of North East region in the state of Victoria. This area was selected because it contained a significant number of Italian immigrants who have been settled for a long period, primarily in the tobacco industry. In addition the state of Queensland, which has a high percentage of Italian immigrants, also in tobacco and sugar growing regions, was identified separately in the analyses. Cost considerations precluded the division of Queensland into rural and urban regions. Comparisons will also be made with intermarriage patterns among Italians in Melbourne, which has a long history of Italian settlement, and is the Australian city with the highest proportion of Italian immigrants.

In the nineteen fifties and sixties, many single male Italian immigrants to Australia entered into marriages by proxy with Italian women. Such marriages were performed in Italy when the physical absence of either the bride or groom made it necessary for a stand in or 'proxy' to register consent to the marriage on behalf of the missing partner. This paper explores the reasons why Italian nationals and Italo-Australian immigrants contracted such unions and argues that proxy marriages reflected and perpetuated parochial loyalty or 'campanilismo' amongst Italian settlers in post-war Australia. By granting proxy marriages tacit approval, the Federal Government (and the Catholic Church) in effect helped facilitate and strengthen home-town allegiances within Italian communities, despite official assimilationist rhetoric which discouraged the formation of tight knit ethnic groups. These marriages were condoned in order to help contain the alleged 'rampant sexual proclivities' of single Italian bachelors and to promote stable, family oriented Italian immigrant communities in Australia which would contribute to the goal of population building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Italians in Australia have been shown to have a varied linguistic repertoire, due to the presence of a high number of regional languages/dialects spoken in Italy, which they brought with them upon migration. Yet, their own efforts to bring attention to their multilingualism have not been fully explored. This article examines an audiocassette recording of a collection of children's songs produced at the end of the 1970s by an Italo-Australian association for local circulation. It focuses on the design of the audiocassette cover and the range of regional languages/dialects of the songs in the collection, showing how (often mixed-language) texts and images aid language display. The results bring to the surface a deliberate effort to shed light on the rich multilingualism of Italy, which is consistent with the changing role of community languages in the period when this audiocassette was produced. These Italians in Australia make visible their multilingualism, presenting a range of regional languages/dialects also through their use in traditional songs, thereby showing another way in which multilingualism can be acknowledged and valued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Altreitalie is the property of Centro Altreitalie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The historiography of Australian imperialism before the First World War has often neglected a context wider than the relationship with Great Britain. Yet this era also implicated non-British governments and their emigrants. Despite their small numbers, Italian settlers are significant for highlighting Italy's empire-building and Australia's struggles for national and imperial unity. Italy's foreign policies after 1901 opened commercial opportunities across its diasporic networks, which included subsidising agricultural ‘colonies’ in Australia. The contemporary discourses of sectarianism and racism voiced before Federation articulated political and popular resistance against Italian immigrants. The rhetoric shifted after Federation as state governments examined the issue of land tenure for closer settlements (small agricultural farms), appealing to an argument about serving unemployed Australians before approving foreign settler schemes. The history leading up to two Italian projects in Western Australia and Queensland in 1907 allows reflections on Italy's diaspora colonisation and Australian responses to foreign imperialism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Altreitalie is the property of Centro Altreitalie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Australia's new-found post-colonial ‘independence’ in 1901 initially required it to continue to hold on to the apron strings of its colonial master. After World War II, these needs changed, as did the geopolitical power of the leading nations. For Australia, there would be the need to secure its borders, build its labour power, find security arrangements, and adhere to a cold war framework in its geographical region. The USA and the Asian region fell into Australia's sphere of interest. Italy, on the other hand, was a nation of contrasting interests and perspectives. Besides being located in Europe, the post-war period defined Italy by its participation in the concept of a European community and an entirely different set of allies, concerns and trajectories, which made it position itself in a different orbit than that of Australia. Australia's changing economic and social needs required a new and vast migration program in 1947, which would change the dynamics of its relationships. Enter Italy. The two countries now had common destinies in relation to migration—Australia needed people to help build its country, whilst Italy encouraged its impoverished rural population to emigrate to this distant and foreign land. A relationship was born. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Self-reported life satisfaction is highly heterogeneous across similar countries, a phenomenon that may be explained by the different scales and benchmarks that people use to evaluate themselves. This study uses cross-sectional data gathered from older populations in ten European countries to compare estimates from a model that assumes reporting styles are constant across respondents against estimates from a model in which anchoring vignettes help correct for individual-specific scale biases. Variations in response scales explain much of the difference in the raw data. Moreover, the cross-country ranking in life satisfaction depends significantly on scale biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has one of the largest communities of overseas Italians which has evolved from a number of waves of migration. The contemporary migration relationship between the two countries is complex involving movement in both directions, much of it temporary. This article demonstrates that although there has been little permanent migration from Italy to Australia for several decades there has been a substantial increase in non-permanent movements in both directions. The article examines the characteristics of different types of movers and then addresses the implications of the mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the roles of race and racism in the Ferry report, a 1925 document written by Queensland government official Thomas Arthur Ferry about settlers from European countries. Particular focus is given to Ferry's depiction of Southern Italians and his suggestion that they were unfit for settlement in Queensland based on racially-determined moral and behavioural characteristics. The author examines the report in relation to larger issues of racism in Australian society.

We explore the discursive construction of Italian identity among a bilingual sample of Italian-born Western Australians. Focus groups were held with two groups: Italians who had migrated to Australia as children and a group who had migrated as adults. We found intra- and inter-individual differences in identity construction, with much discourse devoted to demonstrating Italian authenticity and negotiating ethnic category boundaries. Shared markers of authenticity included language, heritage and food. The groups varied in their selection of referent groups to make authenticity claims, with the child migrants drawing upon the shared Australian stereotype of ‘wogs’ to construct and authenticate their Italian-ness. In contrast, adult migrants constructed Italian identity through comparisons with the dominant Australian ethnic group and in relation to a broader ‘migrant’ identity. The findings highlight the fluid and complex nature of ethnic identity and the need for further exploration of how it is constructed in talk. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the Italian community in Sydney, Australia. In Australia, besides English, the majority official language common to all Australians, there are numerous Aboriginal and immigrant languages used regularly in daily life. Multilingual Australia is very proud of its rich language resources. Yet the attempts at maintaining them produce little result, as it seems common for minority languages to be abandoned once English is acquired, albeit with different patterns of language shift. In the case of Italian, the shift is rapid, much more rapid than some of its demographic characteristics would predict. Italians in Australia are not simply bilingual in Italian and English. Their language varieties are numerous and variously distributed according to their generation of migration, their geographical origin in Italy, and their socio-economic position. Most first generation migrants have an Italian dialect as their first language. Dialect monolingualism marks the lower socioeconomic classes, but since most migrants are upwardly mobile people they can also speak some Italian. English is the third language of Italian migrants. In summary, the language varieties of the Australian Italian community are the results of recent contact between the old premigration varieties and English.

Explains the culture of chain migration to Australia from the Valtellina region of Italy. Importance of the story of Italian settlement; Heavy presence of the Lombards; Factors that explain the migration; Agricultural crisis in Valtellina; Emigration of Italians through Switzerland.