MERCHANTS FROM SOUTH ASIA IN BOLOGNA. AN APPROACH TO THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY THROUGH THEIR WORK

Abstract

This paper aims to approach the cultural identity of South Asian immigrants through their jobs. By means of a reduced sample of minimarket owners, the article explores the extent to which the informants’ marketplace allows them to maintain aspects of their cultural capital and, thus, ease their integration into the host society. The studied group is hermetic, whichrepresented an obstacle in the research as it impeded the generalization of findings. Despite the inquiry’s lack of depth, it constitutes a precedent for further research.