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Italians in Australia pp 75–97Cite as

Family and Generational Negotiations

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Migration History ((PSMH))

Abstract

This chapter reflects on the centrality of the family in the lives of Italian migrants and their children. First, it acknowledges the actual complexity of Italian-Australian families, against the tendency to oversimplify and essentialise their composition, their values, and their resistance to change and transculturation. The chapter then focuses on three pivotal aspects of family life to demonstrate the actual cultural complexity and flexibility of these families. These aspects are: marriage, and especially the peculiar phenomenon of marriages by proxy; the complex processes of intergenerational and transcultural negotiations between migrants and their children, especially with regards to matters of gender and sexuality; and the complexity of familial, community, and transnational arrangements around the management of health issues, aged care, and death.

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  1. School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Francesco Ricatti

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  1. Francesco Ricatti
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Ricatti, F. (2018). Family and Generational Negotiations. In: Italians in Australia. Palgrave Studies in Migration History. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78873-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78873-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78872-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78873-9

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