Return Visits of the Young Albanian Second Generation in Europe

Contrasting Themes and Comparative Host-Country Perspectives

Bibliographic Data

ID7921097
AuthorsZ Vathi (0000-0002-9091-8637, University of Sussex), Russell King (0000-0001-6662-3305, University of Sussex, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume6
Issue4
Pages503-518
Publication date2011-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMobilities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1745-0101 • E-ISSN: 1745-011X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17450101.2011.603944
OpenAlexW1993447886
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited22

Research on the links of the second generation to their parental homeland, and return visits in particular, is largely lacking. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 75 Albanian teenagers in London, Thessaloniki and Florence, this paper brings a multi-sited perspective on attitudes towards and experiences of homeland visits. Contrasts are drawn between positive themes emerging from the narratives, which are about belonging, family and nature in Albania, and negative impressions which relate to poverty and traditionalism, and a developing sense of boredom as teenagers get older. We then relate some of these contrasting experiences to differences in social integration in the three different host-society contexts. The conclusion elaborates the uniqueness and significance of this case, both in terms of this being the first exploration of the transnational orientations of one of Europe’s newest second generations, and in relation to the home-country context of a liberalising ex-communist country still in a state of economic backwardness

Backwardness · Boredom · Economic growth · Geography · Homeland · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Poverty · Sociology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Psychology · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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