Second generation in multicultural Italy: ethnographic insights on the social production of otherness in welfare institutions

Grounded on the anthropological perspective, the article deals with the issue of second generation immigrants in the context of Bologna (Italy). The empirical basis to the paper is an ethnographic work conducted in a Youth Centre, a welfare service commited to provide care and support to adolescents, located in the Emilia-Romagna region. The focus on the everyday interactions between welfare workers and teenage people of migrant background allows us to explore the Italian production of otherness.