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Intensity: a theoretical reflection on the study of migrants’ lives and memories
Conference presentation

Intensity: a theoretical reflection on the study of migrants’ lives and memories

Francesco Ricatti
2011 University Research Conference Program Book, p.11
USC Research Conference, 2011 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 18-Jul-2011–22-Jul-2011)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2011
url
http://www.usc.edu.au/View
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Abstract

Cultural Studies migrants
This paper originates from an oral history project supported by USC and a SEED grant in 2009. The project aimed at a better understanding of the role hope plays in the lives and memories of migrants. It was based on a series of open and respectful dialogues with 15 Italians who migrated to Queensland in the 1950s and 1960s. In the best tradition of oral history, this research did not aim at establishing facts pertaining to a distant past, but rather at discussing with migrants how their memories of migration relate to historical processes and prevalent ideologies in contemporary Australia and Italy. The presentation will address two central concerns in contemporary migration studies. Firstly, scholars need to recognise and study the hardship of migrants' lives, while at the same time critically challenging stereotypical representations of migrants as victims. This requires a specifi c focus on migrants' agency, and on the complexity of their lives and identities. Secondly, especially in the last decade, following a general academic interest in the history and anthropology of emotions, scholars have begun to investigate ways to locate emotions at the core of migration studies. This paper suggests that the concept of intensity that I have recently elaborated can theoretically frame both issues, contributing to a more complex and articulate understanding of migrants' lives, identities, memories and histories. While this is a theoretical paper, the concept of intensity will be explained and illustrated through the stories and opinions of the migrants I interviewed. It is also my intention to demonstrate how the concept of intensity is relevant not only in historical perspective, but also for a critical reading of contemporary migratory phenomena in Europe and Australia.

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