Distinguished lecture by ECU migration expert Professor Loretta Baldassar

First published by Edith Cowan University

Leading migration scholar ECU Professor Loretta Baldassar will present the Australian Anthropological Society’s 2024 Distinguished Lecture at the State Library of Western Australia.

The lecture, titled "Social Death, Flying Grannies and Digital Kinning: Caring across Distance Over a Century of Australian Migration", explores how the revolution in travel and communication technologies has transformed our ability to care for people and places across time and distance.

Professor Baldassar, a Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Research Fellow and Director of the Social Ageing (SAGE) Futures Lab at ECU, has dedicated her career to understanding the impacts of migration on families and communities.

Drawing on four decades of research, her lecture will explore how advancements in travel and communication technologies allow family members separated by great distances to connect and support one another through virtual, proxy, and imagined forms of "digital kinning".

"Our ability to care for each other across distance has transformed dramatically," Professor Baldassar explained.

"For early migrants, separation from family often felt like a social death. Today, the many ways that families use digital media to communicate with each other allows for a kind of co-presence that lets us experience shared life moments, no matter the miles between us."

The lecture will also spotlight the growing phenomenon of "flying grannies" - grandparents who undertake long journeys to care for family members around the world.

Professor Baldassar's insights extend to the lives of migrants in residential care who, though they may no longer be able to visit their homelands, find connection through digital means.

"For these individuals, technology offers a vital lifeline, allowing them to maintain a sense of identity and belonging," she said.

Professor Baldassar's research is central to the field of Transnational Family Studies and has led to significant contributions in social ageing and migrant support networks. She is currently leading several projects at ECU, including the "Befriending with Genie" trial, an intervention supporting people living with dementia and their carers from migrant communities, which is currently recruiting participants. To find out more visit the webpage.

Hosted by the Australian Anthropological Society, this public lecture promises an engaging look at how migration reshapes the ways we connect, care, and create family across borders.

Event Details

Social Death, Flying Grannies and Digital Kinning: Caring across Distance Over a Century of Australian Migration

Date: Thursday, November 28, 2024
Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM AWST
Location: State Library of Western Australia, 25 Francis Street, Perth, WA 6000

For more information or to register, please visit the Eventbrite webpage.