The concept of family is a social construct, and the one used in Western countries fails to accommodate the complex systems of interaction between parenthood practices, relationships between spouses and siblings, vertical and horizontal relationships among relatives, conjugal ties, marriage contracts, domestic arrangements in other countries – the more so as these relations are frequently conducted at a distance. Nonetheless, the term “family”is widely used in studies of migration and mobility, though often uncritically. This introduction intends to expose the pitfalls incidental to this uncritical perspective and aims to clear up some of the misunderstandings that can occur when migration and mobility studies adopt an ethnocentric idea of family. Far from being inflexible and forging the self-same links whatever the migration circumstances, kinship ties adapt and help others adapt to the novel situations encountered in new countries, thereby proving a resource and an essential part of the culture of mobility.

Kinship ties on the move: an introduction to the migratory journeys of kindred

francesca declich
2020

Abstract

The concept of family is a social construct, and the one used in Western countries fails to accommodate the complex systems of interaction between parenthood practices, relationships between spouses and siblings, vertical and horizontal relationships among relatives, conjugal ties, marriage contracts, domestic arrangements in other countries – the more so as these relations are frequently conducted at a distance. Nonetheless, the term “family”is widely used in studies of migration and mobility, though often uncritically. This introduction intends to expose the pitfalls incidental to this uncritical perspective and aims to clear up some of the misunderstandings that can occur when migration and mobility studies adopt an ethnocentric idea of family. Far from being inflexible and forging the self-same links whatever the migration circumstances, kinship ties adapt and help others adapt to the novel situations encountered in new countries, thereby proving a resource and an essential part of the culture of mobility.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2678191
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