Ebook A Journey to the West. Observations on the Chinese Migration to Italy

This volume presents the results of a number of studies about Chinese migration to Italy carried out between 2003 and 2013. The data discussed in the different chapters were collected mostly through ethnographic fieldwork carried out both in China and in Italy. Covered topics include: the organization of Chinese trade activities in Italy, the perception of Italy as a country of migration, identity construction among Italian-born Chinese, language use among Chinese migrants in Italy and literary works written by Chinese in Italy. In addition to the chapters devoted to the discussion of data gathered from fieldwork, an introductory chapter based on a review of the scientific literature is offered in order to provide the reader with a basic background about the characteristics of a migration flow that has lasted nearly a century. Valentina Pedone is a researcher and assistant professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Florence. She studied at Beijing Language and Culture University and at Indiana University, as a Fulbright scholar. In 2005 she received her Ph.D. from the Sapienza University of Rome, with a dissertation about identity issues and bilingualism among second generation Chinese in Italy. From 2006 to 2010 she was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Urbino. In recent years she has been publishing articles in China and Europe and lecturing on many aspects of Chinese migration.