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Transnational Relationships between Romanian Grandparents and Grandchildren: Materiality, Cultural Identity, and Cosmopolitanism

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Book cover Handbook of Transnational Families Around the World

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

This chapter explores transnational family relationships between grandchildren and grandparents as mediated by materiality. This analysis focuses on the nature of intergenerational familyhood and how the transnational communication gap between old and young is bridged between Romanian grandparents and their grandchildren, whether one or the others are abroad. From a materiality perspective, grandparents and grandchildren send correspondence, food, and gifts to each other that nurtures togetherness in the sense of concern, care, and love. Such exchanges work both ways geographically—conveying a sense of Romanianness abroad and a cosmopolitan openness towards home—and members of either generation (grandparents or grandchildren) may be among their recipients. Generational co-agency reflected in the exercise of voice and effective participation in decisions is highlighted concerning the rights of children and the elderly, specifically, their right to access their own cultures, the one of their original homeland and that of the migrant’s country of stay.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from the EEA Grants 2014-2021, under Project contract no. 11, EEA-RO-NO-2018-0586.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Study of Transnational Families, FSPAC, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Viorela Ducu & Áron Telegdi-Csetri

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  1. Viorela Ducu
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  2. Áron Telegdi-Csetri
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Correspondence to Viorela Ducu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social work, Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Santiago, Chile

    Javiera Cienfuegos

  2. Centre on Migration, Citizenship and Development (COMCAD), Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Rosa Brandhorst

  3. Centre of African Studies, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Deborah Fahy Bryceson

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Ducu, V., Telegdi-Csetri, Á. (2023). Transnational Relationships between Romanian Grandparents and Grandchildren: Materiality, Cultural Identity, and Cosmopolitanism. In: Cienfuegos, J., Brandhorst, R., Fahy Bryceson, D. (eds) Handbook of Transnational Families Around the World . Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15278-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15278-8_6

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