Ageing Between Cultures: The Experiences and Challenges of Italian Migrants in South Australia

Older Italian immigrants are one of the largest ethnic ageing groups in Australia, but their experiences of ageing in a foreign land have been largely overlooked. This interdisciplinary volume addresses the multiple dimensions of the ageing experience of the Italian migrant community in South Australia by highlighting the importance of a multi-layered approach, which recognises that elders, their families and their communities are closely intertwined and need to be explored in relation to one another. Drawing on the expertise of historians, migration scholars, social scientists and a medical practitioner, this volume offers an overview of the origin of the Italian settlement in South Australia and addresses the ageing experience of Italian migrants by revisiting the concepts of health and wellbeing, intergenerational family care-giving practices and the role of language and culture in the ageing process. It analyses how the Italian elderly gather the information they need in an era when governments and businesses use the Internet and mobile devices to disseminate information about services and products. It examines the home as the locus and symbol of migratory goals and discusses how food habits remain psychologically and physiologically significant in later life. The role of religion and spirituality as well as the significance of migrants' personal belongings as cultural markers are also discussed. At a time when the world's population is ageing at a rapid rate, this comprehensive study on an elderly migrant minority, their families and communities, is a valuable contribution to the literature of migration and ageing and serves as a framework for the development of aged care models for other migrant communities.--

• | Author: Daniela Cosmini-Rose
• | Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• | Publication Date: Jan 28, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 288 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1784624683
• | ISBN-13: 9781784624682