Book Review - Italians in Australia: History, Memory, Identity

Abstract

The continued vilification of asylum seekers, refugees and other minority groups in Australia, from mainstream media and from within Parliament, makes Francesco Ricatti’s Italians in Australia a prescient work. Debates spurred by Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton’s erroneous comments about ‘African gangs’ in Melbourne indicate that we need to continue to challenge ideas about ‘successful integration’ and acceptable migrants, and tell deeper histories that reflect on evolving ideas about race and acceptability in different historical contexts. Ricatti’s work accepts this challenge and provides histories that are multilayered and inclusive of experiences of difference and discrimination.