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Open Seminar: Migration from Limnos to Australia: Re-discovering Identity, Belonging and ‘Home’
Location: Ithacan Philanthropic Society, Level 2, 329 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Date: THURSDAY 4/4/2019 @ 7:00pm
Presenter: Melissa Afentoulis
Language of Presentation: English | R.M.L.G.*: 0 - No knowledge of Greek required.
Entry: FREE
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Synopsis
My doctoral dissertation is a case study of migrants coming to Australia in the period 1950s - 1970s, from Limnos (otherwise known as Lemnos), an Aegean island of Greece. The thesis explores intergenerational migration experiences by interrogating emerging themes that arise in the oral histories of three different cohorts. The critical focus is on identity construction and belonging and the dynamics of return visits to the ancestral homeland. Specifically, the thesis explores the pattern of return visits by descendants of migrants, as a form of identity consolidation among the second-generation and highlights the fluidity and dynamism of identity creation and transformation. I draw on original and extensive interviews conducted for this thesis and use references from various disciplines to focus on the framing of personal experiences and cross-generational themes including the significance and meaning of ‘home’ and ancestral roots. These are considered in the context of evolving transnational relationships and the re-connection to those who have remained on the island. As the first scholarly research project about migration from this island, the thesis provides a unique exploration of multi-dimensional themes that connect ‘those who have left and those who stayed’ and thus fills a distinct gap in Greek-Limnian migrant historiography.
The seminar will selectively present aspects from this research that may be of interest to the Greek community.
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Bio
Born on the island of Limnos, Greece, Melissa Afentoulis arrived in Australia in 1963, with her mother and brother to be reunited with her father who had migrated in 1955. She recently completed a history doctoral dissertation at the University of Melbourne and will be officially graduating as Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in April, 2019. Melissa returned to study at Melbourne University several times since the 1970s and holds a BA(Honours), BSW, Grad. Dip. In Public Policy and Master of Public Policy and Management. She has a distinctive and diverse career in public policy, research, and service management in family and children’s services, women’s health, migrant settlement and refugee advocacy. Her current research interest is migration history, cultural identity and belonging and its formation inter-generationally and transnationally in the diaspora.
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Sponsors
We thank the following donor for making this seminar possible: Anastasia Sougleri.
During the course of the year considerable expenses are incurred in staging the seminars. In order to mitigate these costs individuals or organisations are invited to donate against a lecture of their choice. You too can donate for one or more seminars and (optionally) let your name or brand be known as a patron of culture to our members, visitors and followers, as well as the broader artistic and cultural community of Melbourne. Please email: info@greekcommunity.com.au or call 03 9662 2722. We also thank the following corporate sponsors:
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* Recommended Minimum Level of Greek in order to enjoy this Event, on a scale of 0 to 5.
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The Greek Community of Melbourne is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Non-Profits Commission ABN 14004258360
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