Transnational childrearing and the preservation of transnational identity in Brazzaville, Congo

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted at two ends of an intra- Africa migration flow (Mali and the Republic of Congo), in this article I examine the role of childrearing practices in the maintenance of transnationalism. I consider different approaches to transnational childrearing by migrant parents and their reasons for adopting them, and delineate three common modes. The most widespread and socially validated approach is to send children home from Congo to their parents’ places of origin, where child fostering is widespread, to be raised by relatives for long periods; this approach increases the durability of transnational ties. I use childrearing approaches as an analytical lens to demonstrate the complementarity of multiple forms of domestic organization, mobility and settlement in the intergenerational production and transmission of durable transnational identities. By arguing for greater focus on phenomena such as transnational childrearing, I seek to promote a broader conceptualization of transnationalism.

Transnational perspectives on intersecting experiences: gender, social class and generation among Southeast Asian migrants and their families

“…For example, well-off families in Hong Kong (Waters 2006), South Korea (Orellana et al 2001) and Taiwan (Zhou 1998) send their children abroad to study in reputable schools and universities. Likewise, migrants with good economic resources send their children back to their countries of origin to be exposed to the cultural and social norms there (Whitehouse 2009). Among migrant children, those of working-class background tend to disregard the maintenance of transnational ties with their parents' countries of origin (Menjívar 2006).…”

Transnational Parenting and Immigration Law: Central Americans in the United States

“…These range from sustaining emotional bonds through diverse forms of communication (Baldassar 2007;Dreby 2006;Parreñas 2005a;Wilding 2006), to ways of handling child-rearing and issues of identity (Whitehouse 2009), parenting and co-parenting (Pribilsky 2004;Whitehouse 2009) with key gender angles (Parreñas 2005a), and challenges that arise from the separation and eventual reunification (Falicov 2007;Ramirez et al 2007). And, as Parreñas (2005b) notes, these family dynamics and their constitution across borders are shaped by the larger systems of inequality and power relations within which they take place.…”

Global Technologies and Transnational Reproduction in Thailand

“…Studies of transnational reproduction have focused on childrearing and intergenerational relationships (Whitehouse, 2009) and the experiences and identities of migrant children (Ip and Hsu, 2006). Levitt's ethnography (2001) of a transnational village of migrants from the Dominican Republic living in Boston notes the ways in which migration and the transnational experience shape individuals' life cycles.…”