European Style 100%: Images from a Moldovan Village on the European Border

  • Francesco Vietti Intercultural Centre in Turin
Keywords: Ethnography, Family, Transnationalism, Eastern Europe, Remittances

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of migration on the family roles in Moldova and the changing dynamics within transnational families. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the economic collapse of the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Moldovans have left their country over the past decade [past two decades?] to seek opportunities abroad. The mass migration has become the dominant socio-economic phenomenon of the country and has prompted the redefinition of the family structure and ideology. The migration of a large number of women leads to a reorganization of the division of labour and the gender roles within the transnational family. These changes influence communities as well as families. Taking a closer look at the transnational experience of a family in the rural context, this paper explores the migrants' consumption of desires and practices as reflective not only of commodified exchange, but also of affection and sentiment.

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Author Biography

Francesco Vietti, Intercultural Centre in Turin

Francesco Vietti has a degree in foreign languages and literature at the University of Turin, followed by a PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of Genova, achieved in 2011. He has done fieldwork in the Balkans and in the former Soviet Union and his specific research interests focus on migration, transnationalism and tourism of the diaspora. His published titles include Cecenia e Russia. Storia e mito del Caucaso ribelle (Massari, 2005); Il paese delle badanti (Meltemi, 2010); and Hotel Albania (forthcoming. 2012). His articles on migration have appeared in journals such as Mondi Migranti and eSamizdat. He is currently member of the scientific board of the Intercultural Centre in Turin.

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Published
2011-11-24
How to Cite
Vietti, F. (2011). European Style 100%: Images from a Moldovan Village on the European Border. Between, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.13125/2039-6597/293