Ties to the Homeland: Second Generation Transnationalism
Editor: Helen Lee
Date Of Publication: Jun 2008
Isbn13: 9781847185891
Isbn: 1-84718-589-4
Ties to the Homeland examines the connections maintained across national borders by the children of migrants, the “second generation.” In the context of globalisation and increasing population mobility, migrants’ transnational ties have become an important topic of research, yet until recently we have heard little about the reproduction of such ties in the second generation. The transnational engagements of migrants’ children are crucial for understanding future trends in the global movement of people, money, goods and ideas, and they also can have a significant impact on issues of cultural identity and “belonging” for these children, who grow up outside their parents’ homelands but may have dual or even multiple notions of “home.” The detailed case studies in Tie to the Homeland explore the diverse transnational practices and attitudes of members of the second generation and reveal significant intergenerational differences that bring into question some of the key assumptions underlying existing work on transnationalism. The case studies focus on the children of migrants originating in regions such as Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific, and they bring an Australian perspective to a field that has been dominated by a European and North American focus.

Helen Lee is a senior lecturer in anthropology at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Her publications include Becoming Tongan: an ethnography of childhood (Helen Morton, University of Hawaii Press, 1996) and Tongans overseas: between two shores (UHP, 2003), as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters.

“The world of second generation Australians, steeped within a web of transnational connections and relationships, encompasses a complex array of negotiated identities, responsibilities and belongings. The essays included in Helen Lee’s collection draw on rich and multifaceted aspects of Australian second generation experiences that cover a range of pertinent topics: from the significance and diverse conceptualizations of homelands to questions of politics, remittances and music. They add important new dimensions to the growing body of Australian scholarship on second generation transnationalism. This collection, which combines conceptual clarity with the richness of data, will fill an important gap in the literature on migration and transnationalism and provide an invaluable insight into the dynamics of contemporary social life in Australia.”

—Zlatko Skrbiš, Professor of Sociology, School of Social Science, Co-director of Research, SBS Faculty, The University of Queensland

“This is the first volume to focus on the intersections of second generation and transnationalism studies in the Australian context. It provides a timely contribution to an emerging field of study that has to date included few accounts of Australian experiences. Helen Lee has woven together a stimulating collection of papers from complementary disciplines providing richly detailed primarily ethnographic accounts that showcase important new scholarship in the field. United by a common focus on identity, the collection offers a nuanced account of the varieties of practices and processes that characterise the transnational realities of the second generation including through music, film, religion, ritual, narrative and imagination.”

—Dr Loretta Baldassar, Associate Professor, Anthropology and Sociology M255, University of Western Australia

Price Uk Gbp: 34.99
Price Us Usd: 52.99

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