The Italian influence is pervasive in Australian culture. From the cappuccino to spaghetti bolognaise, its hard to imagine this land without its little touches of Italy. So it is a little surprising to hear that the Italian presence in Australia is hardly visible in the history or archives of Western Australia.
Professor Loretta Baldassar is working to rectify this through an ARC Linkage project. Since receiving her PhD in 1995 the Professor has become a pioneer of the transnational approach to migration studies in the Australian context and published widely in this area. Her latest project entitled Italian Lives in Western Australia seeks to investigate how Italian migrants and their descendents have influenced and changed Australian culture.
Collaborating with other academics and with the support of many industry partners, Baldassar's work will result not just in publications but also in an Italian Archive in the Battye Library and a traveling exhibition being organized by the WA Museum.
The overall hoped for effect is that the Italian migrant experience will be seen as a central part of Western Australian history by the community.
Tireless in her efforts to bring awareness of Italian culture and experience in Australia, Loretta is also a member and office bearer of the WA branch of the Italian Australian Women's Association since 1993. She is also the founder and chair of the Cassamarca Australian Project which coordinates academic staff positions in Italian studies in Australian Universities funded by the Cassamarca Foundation, Treviso, Italy. While Italian migration studies are her specialty, Baldassar is also a great supporter of more general migration research, co-founding the WA Migration Research Network.
