From Another Place

About this book

Never before have so many people ended up in a place different from that where they began, making the twentieth century a century of migration. Culture is central to the process of migration, yet is rarely examined in studies of the political economy of labour migration. From Another Place explores definitions and understandings of the relations between migration and cultural processes, calling into question the interrelation between circumstance and cultural practice. It is a timely attempt to move away from the limitations of dichotomous explanations of migration, using the insights derived from sociology, political economy and literature in the discussion of cultural beliefs and practices. The book is an original and empirically-grounded study, made novel by its discussion of the dynamics of gender and class as well as those of ethnicity and culture. Various perspectives on class, gender, ethnicity and identity are interwoven throughout the discussion of the experiences of work, health, and state intervention in the lives of non-English speakers in Australia, particularly Greek-Australians. The discussion begins with a perspective on large-scale studies of international migration and the historical constructions of cultural differences, moving on to an examination of the politics and poetics of ethnicity through analyses of 'traditional' cultural practices such as dance and dowry before finally considering the interrelation of class and ethnicity with gender and age. Dr Bottomley has gathered material from participant observation as well as historical, demographic, statistical and literary sources to achieve an interdisciplinary coverage of related issues. Although the author is most familiar with the situation in Greece and Australia, the book is firmly grounded in the international literature and will have broad theoretical and comparative significance.