Narratives of Place, Culture and Identity

265 Pages·2006·1.01 MB·English

by  Anastasia Christou

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Narratives of Place, Culture and Identity: Second-Generation Greek-Americans c DISSeRTATIoNS
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Return ‘Home’ explores the phenomenon of ‘return migration’ in Greece through r
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the settlement and identification processes of second-generation Greek-American t
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returning migrants. It examines the meanings attached to the experience of u
Narratives of Place,
return migration. The concepts of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ figure prominently in
the return migratory project which entails relocation and displacement as well as N
adjustment and alienation of bodies and selves. Furthermore, the book considers a Culture and Identity
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the multiple interactions (social, cultural, political) between the place of origin a
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and the place of destination; network ties; historical and global forces in the i
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shaping of return migrant behaviour; and expressions of identity. The human e Second-Generation
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geography of return migration extends beyond geographic movement into a o
f Greek-Americans Return ‘Home’
diasporic journey involving (re)constructions of homeness and belongingness in
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the ancestral homeland. l
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stsi christou
Anastasia Christou is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of ,

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Sussex, UK. She was previously Visiting Assistant Professor at the Faculty of
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Humanities, Department of History, International and Social Studies at the l
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University of Aalborg and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Academy for
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Migration Studies in Denmark.

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is- 978 90 556 878 
is-0 90 556 878 6
Amsterdam Universit y Press
str uirsit rss · .u.
Narratives of Place, Culture and Identity
IMISCOE (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion)
IMISCOE is a European Commission-funded Network of Excellence of
more than 350scientists from various research institutes thatspecialise
in migration and integration issues in Europe. These researchers, who
come from allbranches ofthe economicandsocialsciences,the huma-
nities and law, implement an integrated, multidisciplinary and interna-
tionally comparative research program that focuses on Europe’s migra-
tion and integration challenges.
Within the program, existing research is integrated and new re-
search lines are developed that involve issues crucial to European-level
policy-making and provide a theory-based design to implement new re-
search.
The publication program of IMISCOE is based on five distinct publication
profiles, designed to make its research and results available to scien-
tists, policymakers and the public at large. High-quality manuscripts
written by IMISCOE members, or in cooperation with IMISCOE members,
are published in these five series. An Editorial Committee coordinates
the review processofthe manuscripts. Thefive series are:
1. Joint Studies
2. Research
3. Dissertations
4. Reports
5. Textbooks
More information on the network can be foundat: www.imiscoe.org
IMISCOE Dissertations include dissertations of IMISCOE members. There
are more than 100 Ph.D. candidates in the various affiliated institu-
tions working ondoctoral research within the IMISCOE framework.
Narratives of Place, Culture
and Identity
Second-Generation Greek-Americans Return
‘Home’
Anastasia Christou
IMISCOE Dissertations
Cover design:Studio Jan de Boer BNO,Amsterdam
Layout: Fito Prepublishing, Almere
ISBN-13 978 90 5356 878 1
ISBN-10 90 5356 878 6
NUR 741 /763
© Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2006
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright re-
served above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or in-
troduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise)
without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the
authorof the book.
Toall the migrantsandrefugees whose tears soothe the grounds
I walk onand whose smilesgive colour andlight to my journeys…
Istill have the hope that resistance will nodoubt, one day,
set us all free to newawakenings and faded dreams…

Table of contents
Acknowledgements 9
A note on transliteration 14
1 Introduction 15
1.1 Narrating diasporic migrancy– conceptualisingethnic
ancestral ‘return’migration 15
1.2 Entering the field –processingthe fieldworkexperience 19
1.3 Documenting the ethnographic textualisation of the
narrationof migrancyand identity 28
2 Situating andtheorising national andethnicexpressions of
place,culture andidentity 31
2.1 Locatingthetopos: exploringplace 32
2.2 Culturalrepresentations: the (trans)national andthe diasporic 37
2.3 Signifying the self: identity discourse 41
2.4 The arena of discussion: place,culture andidentity as
signifiers of the migrant sense of home,return andself 45
3 The Greek-American experience:emigration, settlement,
return and identity 47
3.1 The Greek-American Diaspora:a brief historical review 47
3.2 Patterns of settlement 50
3.2.1 Hostland practices: integration, assimilation,
organisations 50
3.2.2 Homeland practices: family, language, religion 53
3.3 Theorisation ofreturn migration 55
3.4 Motivesof return, problems ofintegration: the desired and
the possible in the country of origin 60
3.5 Effectsonthe returnees, their families andthe country of
return 61
3.6 Journeys, memoriesand praxis: space, place, cultural
landscapes and the personalplan ofaction 63
4 Ideologies of home and geographiesof place 65
4.1 The ancestral return: searching fora homeplace inthe
homeland 68
4.2 Place is home: constructions of placenessand homeness 83
8 NARRATIVESOFPLACE,CULTUREANDIDENTITY
4.3 Narrating the home in the national: stories of‘home’
at home 106
4.4 Summing up 119
5 Ideologies of return and geographiesof culture 121
5.1 Homeis the return:constructions ofbelongingness 122
5.2 The geography ofreturn: writing the cultural worldof
returnees 137
5.3 Narrating the return in the ethnocultural space:stories of
the ‘patrida’ upon return 157
5.4 Summing up 161
6 Ideologies of self and geographies ofidentity 165
6.1 Constructing andnegotiatingidentities 167
6.1.1 Class, gender 169
6.1.2 Networks, organisations 184
6.1.3 Immigration, ethnicity 190
6.1.4 Memory,global events 194
6.2 ‘Transhybrid’ identities:transformations and transitions
within traditions 200
6.3 Narrating the self uponfinding the home:stories of
‘who we are’in the ‘where we are’ 207
6.4 Summing up 211
7 Conclusions 215
7.1 A three dimensional ideology: the return as aconstruction
of place-culture-identity 215
7.2 So, who then is this Greek-American return migrant? 218
7.3 Reflecting onthe future: considerations for further research
ondiasporas new andold 219
7.4 Revisiting reflections:mapping return migration,tracing
place,mirroring identity, refiguring home, reframing
belonging 220
7.4.1 Methodology 220
7.4.2 Homeand identification 223
7.4.3 Betweencultural fieldsandsocial spaces 225
7.5 Epilogue 227
Notes 231
Appendix 241
Bibliography 245
Acknowledgements
The genesis of the research project that this book is based on can be
traced back in time and space to several multilocal and multicultural
experiences that encapsulate imprints of memories, thoughts, conver-
sations and questions in a life of diaspora, in both its academic and
everyday facets. This book involves many stages of my own ‘migrant-
hood’ and an evolving process that explores issues that have been both
fascinating and troubling over the years but always of great impor-
tance. This manuscript is the product of over a decade’s challenging
work, and I have been extremely fortunate that many friends and col-
leagues shared my agonies, stimulated my thinking, inspired my writ-
ing and above all provided continuous support and generous assis-
tance. This is a group of people from several countries whose contribu-
tions tothisbook have been fundamental.
But first and foremost to my parents and brother, migrants them-
selves, return migrants of different generations but similar reasons, I
am grateful for all your emotional support and love. Thank you for be-
lieving in me, respecting and tolerating my dreams, decisions and life
choices and always having to pay the price of missing me. I know I
wasn’ttherewhereyou weremostofthe timebutyouwerealwayswith
me.
From the very beginning of my research, the unconditional help,
friendship, love, patience, support and guidance of Dr. D. Mentzenio-
tis, which constantly increased as my fears and anxieties reached ‘dan-
gerously’ high peaks, are clearly more than any utopian idealised Pla-
tonic perspective could capture but nonetheless coming from an in-
credible philosopher and person. Thank you for generously sharing
your genius with me, abundantly providing honesty, a wealth of re-
search material, time and timeless wisdom. I will never be the same
since I met you…!
I am also greatly indebted to the numerous people who have accom-
panied and guided me throughout my research journey. My supervisor
at the University of Sussex, Professor Russell King, who guided my
doctoral research so expertly; I owe my warmest gratitude for his valu-
able feedback, comments and suggestions that have shaped my re-
search and study and made it possible to develop into a complete the-