Through an illustration of her fieldwork research, Elena Bergia explores the continuous coming-and-going of individuals and families between Northern Ireland and the small village of Casalattico in central Italy. This perpetual mobility fosters a special sense of identity, centred around the experience of existing in two places at once — having one’s feet in two different stirrups, as an Italian saying goes.

Dr Elena Bergia holds a PhD in Anthropology / Irish Studies from Queen's University, Belfast, and a MSc in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. She is an independent researcher with an extensive publication record on the topics of gender and conflict and gendered heroism, and an increasing focus on migration studies. She is currently a teaching assistant at the School of HAPP and an Open Learning instructor.