48 / 2018

Beatrice Mariottini

Book Review - Natasha King, No Borders: The Politics of Immigration Control and Resistance

“Imagine a society like a ripped sheet, each hole being a space of freedom destined to grow larger. As long as it is being pierced, those who find themselves caught in the material will not choke. They will be able to choose to migrate […] We need to push these walls” (anonymous interview: 159). The metaphor used by this interviewee offers a good visual explanation of the aim and direction of the No Borders movement, which Natasha King brilliantly explains in her book. The author is an English scholar with a PhD in political science from the University of Nottingham who focuses on the struggle for the freedom of movement and has conducted extensive research on the topic around Europe, specifically in Calais, France, and Athens, Greece.

48 / 2018

Beatrice Mariottini

Book Review - Natasha King, No Borders: The Politics of Immigration Control and Resistance

“Imagine a society like a ripped sheet, each hole being a space of freedom destined to grow larger. As long as it is being pierced, those who find themselves caught in the material will not choke. They will be able to choose to migrate […] We need to push these walls” (anonymous interview: 159). The metaphor used by this interviewee offers a good visual explanation of the aim and direction of the No Borders movement, which Natasha King brilliantly explains in her book. The author is an English scholar with a PhD in political science from the University of Nottingham who focuses on the struggle for the freedom of movement and has conducted extensive research on the topic around Europe, specifically in Calais, France, and Athens, Greece.

48 / 2018

Justine Grace N. Abrugena

Book review - Deirdre McKay, An Archipelago of Care: Filipino Migrants and Global Networks

Labour migration has been part of the Philippine government’s economic policy since the 1970s. What was supposed to be a temporary solution at that time has become a survival strategy and one of the country’s economic pillars today. The global increase in dual-income households and ageing populations in the past decades have contributed to the growing demand for reproductive labour, or care work. Reproductive labour is work associated with care and domestic work that sustains the lives of family members. Reproductive labour is both physically and emotionally demanding; lonely; prone to exploitative practices; and usually remunerated inadequately (3); and as a result, it is considered less desirable than other forms of employment. Meanwhile, Filipino migrant workers have created a niche in the global labour market and are recognized as people who deliver high quality effective care and whose skills are in demand in the global job market despite lacking the formal papers and right to work (2). This has created circumstances in which care work performed by migrants especially from the Global South is increasing, and as such creates a reality in which care workers and their skills are not easily substituted by the local population (2).

48 / 2018

Justine Grace N. Abrugena

Book review - Deirdre McKay, An Archipelago of Care: Filipino Migrants and Global Networks

Labour migration has been part of the Philippine government’s economic policy since the 1970s. What was supposed to be a temporary solution at that time has become a survival strategy and one of the country’s economic pillars today. The global increase in dual-income households and ageing populations in the past decades have contributed to the growing demand for reproductive labour, or care work. Reproductive labour is work associated with care and domestic work that sustains the lives of family members. Reproductive labour is both physically and emotionally demanding; lonely; prone to exploitative practices; and usually remunerated inadequately (3); and as a result, it is considered less desirable than other forms of employment. Meanwhile, Filipino migrant workers have created a niche in the global labour market and are recognized as people who deliver high quality effective care and whose skills are in demand in the global job market despite lacking the formal papers and right to work (2). This has created circumstances in which care work performed by migrants especially from the Global South is increasing, and as such creates a reality in which care workers and their skills are not easily substituted by the local population (2).

48 / 2018

Mateja Sedmak

Identities and Belongings of “Second-Generation Migrant Women”

The article deals with issues of (cultural and ethnic) identity formation and belonging in the case of “second-generation female migrants” from former Yugoslavia in Slovenia. Subjective perceptions, the complexity of identity self-perception and the role of the wider environment (peer group, family) are explored. The article addresses three closely connected yet separate issues: (1) the problematic nature of monoethnic affiliations; (2) the fact that ethnic boundaries do not necessarily coincide with cultural ones; and (3) the complexity of self-perception processes and cultural mixing. The article questions the assumption that cultural assimilation is straightforward in the case of “second-generation migrants”, addresses gender and religion as important factors, and exposes the “in-between” position of “second-generation migrants”. 
KEY WORDS: cultural identity, ethnic identity, mixed identity, second-generation migrant, women.

48 / 2018

Mateja Sedmak

Identities and Belongings of “Second-Generation Migrant Women”

The article deals with issues of (cultural and ethnic) identity formation and belonging in the case of “second-generation female migrants” from former Yugoslavia in Slovenia. Subjective perceptions, the complexity of identity self-perception and the role of the wider environment (peer group, family) are explored. The article addresses three closely connected yet separate issues: (1) the problematic nature of monoethnic affiliations; (2) the fact that ethnic boundaries do not necessarily coincide with cultural ones; and (3) the complexity of self-perception processes and cultural mixing. The article questions the assumption that cultural assimilation is straightforward in the case of “second-generation migrants”, addresses gender and religion as important factors, and exposes the “in-between” position of “second-generation migrants”. 
KEY WORDS: cultural identity, ethnic identity, mixed identity, second-generation migrant, women.

48 / 2018

Urška Strle

At the Intersection of Mobility and Social Networks: A Biographical Sketch of Ivana Kobilca

The author explores the biographical aspects of Ivana Kobilca’s life to explain how this native of Ljubljana, a parochial 19th century Habsburg town, managed to become a successful artist. Not a member of high society, she travelled abroad, studied art and lived in several major European cities. Kobilca’s story, with a special focus on her mobility and social network, reveals her ingenious strategies to overcome barriers that limited the artistic expression of women during the belle époque. The study is based on a variety of egodocuments, biographical studies and historiographical references that place aspects of Kobilca’s history into a broader socio-cultural context.
KEY WORDS: Ivana Kobilca, biography, painter, mobility, social network

48 / 2018

Urška Strle

At the Intersection of Mobility and Social Networks: A Biographical Sketch of Ivana Kobilca

The author explores the biographical aspects of Ivana Kobilca’s life to explain how this native of Ljubljana, a parochial 19th century Habsburg town, managed to become a successful artist. Not a member of high society, she travelled abroad, studied art and lived in several major European cities. Kobilca’s story, with a special focus on her mobility and social network, reveals her ingenious strategies to overcome barriers that limited the artistic expression of women during the belle époque. The study is based on a variety of egodocuments, biographical studies and historiographical references that place aspects of Kobilca’s history into a broader socio-cultural context.
KEY WORDS: Ivana Kobilca, biography, painter, mobility, social network

48 / 2018

Klara Kožar Rosulnik

Biographical Learning and Identity (Re)construction: The Migration Experiences of Neža Gerkšič, aka Agnes Lacroix

The article interprets the migration experiences of Neža Gerkšič using the theory of biographical learning. It sees biographical learning as a process that occurs in everyday life and results in the (re)construction of identity, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. The analysis of the autobiographical story shows how a female migrant used various strategies (adaptation, personal growth, development of an alternative lifestyle, influencing local social rules, innovative learning) to form her knowledge and (re)construct her identity. The article closes by presenting learning strategies that represent a tool that can help in the analysis and interpretation of learning that happens during migration experiences.
KEY WORDS: biographical learning, female migration, identity, autobiographical method, phenomenological research

48 / 2018

Klara Kožar Rosulnik

Biographical Learning and Identity (Re)construction: The Migration Experiences of Neža Gerkšič, aka Agnes Lacroix

The article interprets the migration experiences of Neža Gerkšič using the theory of biographical learning. It sees biographical learning as a process that occurs in everyday life and results in the (re)construction of identity, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. The analysis of the autobiographical story shows how a female migrant used various strategies (adaptation, personal growth, development of an alternative lifestyle, influencing local social rules, innovative learning) to form her knowledge and (re)construct her identity. The article closes by presenting learning strategies that represent a tool that can help in the analysis and interpretation of learning that happens during migration experiences.
KEY WORDS: biographical learning, female migration, identity, autobiographical method, phenomenological research