Coloniality and Meritocracy in Unequal EU Migrations Intersecting Inequalities in Post-2008 Italian Migration
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 The Coloniality of Meritocracy: From the Anglosphere to Post-Austerity Europe
- 2 Imagining Meritocracy in Unequal Positions
- 3 (Re)Imagining Meritocracy in Unequal Migrations
- 4 The Coloniality of Belonging
- 5 The Coloniality of Brexit
- Conclusion
- Appendix A Interviewing: From Theory to Practice
- Appendix B Sample Composition
- Appendix C Summary of Participants
- Appendix D Interview Topics and Questions
- References
- Index
3 - (Re)Imagining Meritocracy in Unequal Migrations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2024
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 The Coloniality of Meritocracy: From the Anglosphere to Post-Austerity Europe
- 2 Imagining Meritocracy in Unequal Positions
- 3 (Re)Imagining Meritocracy in Unequal Migrations
- 4 The Coloniality of Belonging
- 5 The Coloniality of Brexit
- Conclusion
- Appendix A Interviewing: From Theory to Practice
- Appendix B Sample Composition
- Appendix C Summary of Participants
- Appendix D Interview Topics and Questions
- References
- Index
Summary
‘I don't know if it's the economic situation, when I came here in the 90s, only for a summer, you walked around and there were news agents and shops full of job ads … it seemed like everyone could find a job. Probably things were already more difficult in 2004, there were already more [pause] I know for sure that people who started teaching here 20, 30 years ago, without qualifications, didn't have any problem to find work, so now you have these [women] working permanently at [redacted], they’ve been here for a lifetime, while now it's almost impossible, there are many more Italians, also with qualifications.’
Gabriella explains how things became more “difficult” in England, at least for people, like her, who aspired to work as Italian language teacher in a university context. She reflects on how her imaginaries about England have transformed. In the 1990s, when she first visited London, it looked like “everyone could find a job”. Around 2004, when she finished her postgraduate studies in England, things were “already more difficult”, as she struggled to find work in her field. After 2010, when she moved again to England (after eight years in Italy), she had to start with hourly-paid teaching, as there were “many more” qualified Italians and EU migrants working in foreign language teaching. To be sure, Gabriella still considered England to be a better option than Italy. As she explained:
‘It's true that there are problems here, but when you go home you realize [pause] the way people speak, the things happening to women, the way people use language, which is still important, right? In our country you hear words you wouldn't hear here … maybe it's all hypocrisy but I think it can still change people's views. I don't know, it's something I’ve always admired in Anglo-Saxon countries compared to us. I think we still lag behind with this. Even if it's not sincere, at least it's something.’
While she felt that England was no longer the land of opportunities that it was in the 1990s, she still believed it offered a more inclusive culture, especially in terms of gender equality.
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- Coloniality and Meritocracy in Unequal EU MigrationsIntersecting Inequalities in Post-2008 Italian Migration, pp. 64 - 86Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2023
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