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Accepted Paper:
Friends and family: networks and practices of Italian academics in the UK during/after Covid
Caterina Guardama
(University of Liverpool)
Mariana Roccia
(University of Gloucestershire)
Djordje Sredanovic
(University of Manchester)
Jessica Hampton
(University of Liverpool)
European academics in the UK are skilled migrants who usually moved for professional reasons and report considering themselves a (relatively) privileged group (see Authors in prep). Our study presents a critical reflection on the socialisation practices and experiences of a group of Italian academics in the North-West of England through an emic lens, by engaging with rich qualitative data. Drawing on the Brain Drain project this study focuses on 10 semi-structured interviews carried out during/post-Covid. This paper offers a re-evaluation of Daniele’s (2019) study of Italian academics in Liverpool pre-Covid. Data collected after Covid show a further level of complexity: there is a “here” (the UK) a “there” (Italy); there is a “before” and there is an “after”. Furthermore, many academics moved to the UK from other countries than Italy (onward migration), or moved within the country prior to the interview and have a complex network of ties, thus resisting a simplistic UK/Italy contrast. Broadly couched within Discourse Analysis, this paper aims at highlighting the complexities in the family and friendship ties established by a small group of Italian academics working in the North-West of the England during Covid.