A nomad from within? : resilient identities in an interconnected world : Russian-speaking immigrant women in Italy (re)-constructing the self

Abstract

Within the current political context of global migration the concept of ‘identity’ has played a major role in the struggle between assimilative and exclusionary practices and policies. Such policies in many cases are the result of a wronged imagination about human identity and the subjects who possess it. In my master’s thesis I conceptualize ‘resilient identity’ as an innovative and highly needed approach to studying today’s constantly transforming subjectivity. Through the analysis of the self-narratives of Russian-speaking female immigrants in Italy, I explore how ‘resilience of identity’ is constructed and manifests itself. My thesis additionally brings together the philosophical and theoretical heritage of Rosi Braidotti’s nomadic theory and Amartya Sen’s identity thinking. This heritage together with the new concept of ‘resilient identity’ allows me to critically revise the traditional understanding of identity and, to describe a today’s subject “from within” based on subjects’ own perceptions about the self. This description allows me to generate some recommendations for future research and policy-making processes.