1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« This is a study of the family life-worlds of Portuguese-Canadian immigrants and their descendants. It examines their ideals and practices in marriage and parenting without placing them in any sort of analytic ghetto. » (p. 3)

Questions :
« My research is organized around three groups of sociological questions. The first group of questions concern the existing links between migration and family projects: How are these orchestrated, carried out and intergenerationally transmitted? [...] Secondly, there are questions about how the burdens brought about by international migration and minority group conditions intermingle with those based on the gender, generation and age: To what extent do multiple social injuries overburden family life and relationships? How does migration project strain and reinforce kin ties, and what strenghts, struggles, pains and satisfactions do family members display? And finally, since families are always grounded in past relationships and future projects, how do the choices or trajectories of one (immigrant) generation link to or affect the decisions or lifestyles of the other two? » (p. 5)

2. Méthode

Type de traitemnet des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

« Inside Ethnic Families is a rich and lively ethnography that describes the perceptions, illusions, and life experiences of three generations of Portuguese-Canadians. Edite Noivo provides an insider’s perspective on a number of family-related issues, ranging from housework and ageing to gender relations and family violence.
Noivo examines how the intersection of migration and family projects affect kin ties, analyses the multiple burdens generated by migration, class, gender, generation, and minority status, and discusses the interplay between family and economic life. Although forced to cope with marital and intergenerational tensions and conflicts, these families demonstrate impressive coping mechanisms, ingenious economic strategies, and psychopolitics aimed at family survival and individual and collective welfare.
Giving voice to an ’invisible’ cultural minority, Inside Ethnic Families exposes the pains and pleasures, struggles and achievements displayed by these immigrant, working-class families. » (préface du livre)