Synopsis
Dr. Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes is the first Goan social science scholar to do her Ph.D on the theme of Goan international migration. This book is based on her 1987 London University Social Anthropology doctoral thesis. It triangulates evidence obtained from extensive ethnographic research in Goa, other parts of India and Portugal, experiential knowledge of the Goan community in Nairobi and London, and historical literature. The book demonstrates the emergence and reproduction of an International Catholic Goan Community (ICGC) which transcends geographical boundaries. This international community emerged from the late 19th century onwards but its origins lie in the social construction of a Local Catholic Goan Community (LCGC) in Goa from the 16th century as a result of Portuguese colonial policies and practices. Large scale international migration was instrumental in the emergence of the international community; hence the implications of Portuguese and British colonial policies are examined to identify the multiplicity of local and global political and economic factors which helped to initiate and sustain the global dispersal of Catholic Goans and the return of some migrants to Goa. The book is critical of the deterministic approach to migration which regards people as merely reacting to changes in the political economy, and to substantiate a proactive perspective, demonstrates the role of Catholic Goans in the perpetuation of international migration. Complementing geographical mobility has been occupational mobility and diversification, and the book examines how the investment in education and training played a key role in the inter-generational transformation of subsistence farmers in Goa to service, technical, white collar and professional employees in different parts of the world. The expansion and establishment of the ICGC depends not only on the absorption of new migrants, but also on sexual and social reproduction and this is discussed in the context of marriage patterns, household organisation and the changing role of women. International migration led to a change in the landscape of villages as migrants built large brick houses in Goa. It also led to altering the demographic profile of villages, principally in changing their religious composition as Hindu Goans from the hinterland of Goa came to capitalise on work opportunities in farming, service and construction. The book explores the changes in the village environment, the local economy and the social structure as well as the dynamics of social interaction. Territorial identification with Goa, and in particular the village of origin, is an important dimension of the ethnic identity of the ICGC and the book examines the nature of radial links with Goa through remittances, property, and participation in village administration and activities. Complementing these radial links are extensive lateral links maintained between globally dispersed satellite communities. The principal institutional mechanism by which the ICGC perpetuates itself is discussed by examining the role of voluntary organisations both in Goa and globally. This book demonstrates how in the ICGC, multiple radial and lateral links emanate from and to Goa, the fountainhead, and the satellite communities, as well as between them, creating a veritable spider s web.
About the Author
Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes holds a Ph.D in Social Anthropology, an M.A. in Higher and Professional Education, and a B.Sc in Psychology. She has undertaken research on the Goan diaspora which involved ethnographic fieldwork in Goa, other parts of India, UK, Portugal, Dubai and Brazil. The author currently works as a senior social researcher and policy adviser in the Department of Education, British Government. Prior to joining the civil service, she worked as a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University and also as a consultant in training, educational development and social research. She has undertaken a range of policy focused social research projects, including a study of British universities to inform the development of social anthropology curricula and pedagogy, and of universities in UK and China to inform globalisation and innovation policies. She has given several national and international presentations on her research and published many academic articles. Mascarenhas-Keyes hails from Saligao, Goa. She was born and brought up in Nairobi, Kenya and attended the Dr. Ribeiro Goan School. In 1970 she came to live in England. She married in 1978 and has four sons.
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