Giancarlo Chiro’s research while affiliated with University of South Australia and other places

This paper examines the marginalisation of multicultural and multilingual discourses that occurred in Australia in the mid-1990s and that continues to the present day. The contemporary struggle between national and multicultural identities is considered against the background of the re-emergence of nationalist discourses across many Western democracies as a consequence of changing global social and economic forces. This is the new age of ‘liquid’ modernity, as theorised by Bauman, a kind of chaotic continuation of ‘solid’ modernity where risk and uncertainty accentuate the vulnerability of the individual rather than uniting individuals to defend their rights. During this time, Australian governments, both Liberal and Labor, have increasingly supported universalising social inclusion/social cohesion policies to the detriment of multicultural policies. In the concluding section, this paper reflects on current trends and future challenges and provides a perspective on what may be required for a successful programme of accommodation and incorporation of cultural and linguistic diversity in Australia.

The present study examines baptism godparenthood, the Italian spiritual kinship system (known as comparatico) among people originating from rural areas of Calabria, southern Italy, who migrated to Adelaide, South Australia, in the 1950s and 1960s. The study specifi cally investigates the transmission of norms and the widespread observance of duties associated with the practice of comparatico among participants. Social relations among allied families produce social capital by generating high levels of obligations and expectations. Participants have maintained and reinforced spiritual kinship with non-kin, often originating from the same Calabrian village. The study reveals how the comparatico system evolves into an extended network infl uencing everyday practices. Non-consanguineous informants, after becoming compari (family allies), are bound by obligations and/or privileges involving both their private and socioeconomic lives.

The present paper derives from a larger study of Calabrian-Australian families using ethno anthropological research methodologies. Specifically, it investigates the strategies used to overcome migrants' disadvantage by preserving traditional cultural practices and structures in the settler country. The study shows this may be achieved through cultural strategies, in particular the establishment of social networking, family alliances and religious practices. The paper demonstrates how the study group reports a strong identification with Calabrian cultural values in the Adelaide milieu, where a tangible and metaphorical presence of the alter ego Calabrian village, is still able to connect people, affirm their sense of we-ness and keep alive traditional cultural values. In spite of previous research among Italian Australians which affirms that the descendants of first generation migrants are well 'incorporated' into Australian society, the Calabrian Australian participants of the present study demonstrate, in various ways, that they have maintained a strong Calabrian identity based on traditional cultural values.

The present paper examines from a humanistic sociological perspective (Znaniecki, 1998; Smolicz, 1999) the cultural maintenance and self—identification of a group of mostly second-generation young adults of Italian ancestry in South Australia. A model of cultural types applicable to multicultural societies such as Australia is proposed by correlating measures of the Italian language and cultural systems activated by the participants with the ideological value orientations they express towards such systems. The two indices produce four general cultural types: Active Italophiles, Inactive Italophiles, Active Italophobes and Inactive Italophobes. Whereas the majority of participants (74 percent) can be defined ‘Italophiles’, this group was almost equally divided between Active Italophiles and Inactive Italophiles. The remaining participants (26 percent) can be distinguished into the 2.6 percent of participants who activate Italian language and culture (the Active Italophobes) and the 23.1 percent who do not (the Inactive Italophobes). Cross—classifications show that the participants' formal study of Italian and their parents' age at migration may be contributing factors in the process of cultural maintenance and identity. The paper argues that the transmission of Italian language and culture to the third generation in Australia will rely mainly on the ‘secure ethnic types’ (Active Italophiles) assisted by the ‘ideational ethnic types’ (Inactive Italophiles) especially if these enter into endogamous life partnerships.

The article examines the family values and ethnic identity of a group of tertiary students of Italian ancestry in Australia through an analysis of their narrative accounts. The participants were asked to write about their life experiences with respect to the interaction of cultural values both within the family and in school settings. The personal statements showed that the ingroup solidarity and outgroup rivalry experienced by many of the participants grew more intense during the high school years. It was also clear from the investigation that all participants, both those who were studying Italian at University at the time of the survey and those who were not, stressed the importance of family values in developing their sense of ethnic identity.

The toughening of immigration and citizenship policies in Western liberal states has coincided with an effort to define the cultural values considered the foundation of national identity. Humanistic Sociology was elaborated by Znaniecki (1963, 1968) in response to the perceived failure of immigrants to assimilate to the culture of the host society. As the sociology of cultural values par excellence, it appears timely to revisit the theoretical foundations of Znanieck's approach and examine whether it remains capable of furthering our understanding of contemporary immigration processes. The paper compares Humanistic Sociology with a number of more recent theoretical orientations which have also emphasized the central role of cultural values. Working in an age dominated by behaviourist theories, Znaniecki's humanistic approach was criticized by contemporaries because of what was seen to be its "subjectivist" bias. In hindsight, Humanistic Sociology appears to have considered balance between "objectivism" (structure) and "subjectivism" (agency) according to which agents assume a strategic role in defining their courses of action on the basis of cultural value–structures (personal ideological systems) which are formed through communicative interactions within relevant social groups. This is evident in his concept of the ideological system which provides individuals with a strategic and creative capacity: the generative power of agency.

It appears that the multicultural policies which emerged during the latter part of the twentieth century in Australia failed to alter the generally negative attitudes of mainstream Australians toward immigrant and Indigenous Others. The paper develops this argument through a brief examination of the history of Ango-Australian hegemony and its implication for immigration policies. Attention is then paid to the multicultural turn in Australia with its subsequent revisions analysed against the prevailing political and ideological orientations of the day. The emergence of a social cohesion discourse at the federal level after 2001 and the increasing mainstream fears for national security may be seen in direct correlation to the demise of multiculturalism and the reassertion of Anglo-Australian values and national identity. The article also assesses whether the reversion to an assimilationist ideology is sustainable in light of increasing levels of transnational mobility.