Towards Transnationality as Practice: A Bourdieusian Approach to Studying the Transnationality of Tunisians in Italy(Studies in Migration and Diaspora)

This book engages in the stream of transnational migration studies by drawing on empirical research examination of the ties that Tunisian migrants and their descendants living in northern and southern Italy maintain with their country of origin. Through the unique application of Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical framework to the study of transnationality, the book demonstrates how transnationality can be understood in terms of practice – or, as the actualisation of a habitus generated by the social position of the agents, in a constant dialectic between interiority and exteriority. Rather than engaging with selected concepts in isolation, the work employs Bourdieu’s entire framework to develop a holistic interpretation of the transnational experience, where objective and subjective dimensions are intimately intertwined, ultimately leading to a praxeological approach to the analysis of migratory transnationality. Towards Transnationality as Practice addresses a crucial gap in transnational migration studies, bringing a deeper understanding of the modalities through which transnationality is practised. It will appeal to scholars, researchers and advanced students with interests in migration and diaspora, transnationalism, cross-Mediterranean migration, social space, and belonging.

Table of Contents:
1.Introduction. 2.Transnationality today: debates and gaps. 3.On fieldwork: research contexts and the heuristic itinerary. 4.Migratory trajectories and their outcomes. Tunisians’ social positioning in Italy. 5.Social capital on a transnational horizon: the ‘crucial link’. 6.Beyond the multiplicity of belongings: a dispositional reading of identity. 7.Cross-border practices as a proxy of the transnational experience. 8.Conclusion. Understanding transnationality as a practice. 9.Appendix. 10.Index.

About the Author :
Andrea Calabretta is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Padua (Italy). In 2023, he defended his doctoral thesis on the transnational relationship between Tunisian migrants in Italy and Tunisia at the same institution. He has participated in several research projects concerning the labour trajectories of migrants and asylum seekers, as well as the life paths of migrants’ descendants. He has published numerous articles in leading academic journals (e.g., Migration Letters, Identities). His research interests include migratory transnationality, the biographical trajectories of migrants’ descendants, identity-building processes among migrants and their descendants, European Islam, and processes of civic and social inclusion and exclusion.

Review :
"This rare and insightful study explores a major yet often overlooked migration, that of Tunisians in Italy. Grounded in a dense, multi-sited body of empirical work, Andrea Calabretta’s Bourdieusian approach offers a highly enlightening and effective reinterpretation of transnationalism theory." Camille Schmoll, EHESS, Paris "Drawing on a solid case study on Tunisian migration to Italy, Andrea Calabretta develops a theoretically sophisticated connection between the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the lived experience of transnationality. Given the vast literature already available on migrant transnationalism, the originality of this book is no small feat." Paolo Boccagni, University of Trento "This book makes a valuable contribution to transnational studies by seriously engaging with the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Abdelmalek Sayad. It brings fresh perspectives to understanding transnationality with its study of Tunisians in Italy that skillfully examines dual processes of emigration and immigration." Deborah Reed-Danahay, University at Buffalo