Barbara Bertolani is a sociologist with a BA in Political Sciences from Bologna University and a PhD in Sociology form Parma University. She was a Post-doctoral fellow in Sociology at Ferrara University in 2003, 2004 and 2008. From 2006 to 2015 she was Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Sociology of Economic and Labor Processes and of Social Policies in EU at the University of Molise. She did extensive qualitative sociological and ethnographic research on North Africans, South Asians and Sikhs in Italy. Her research interests include inter-marriages, ethnic and kin networks, transnationalism, second generation Sikh youth in Italy, Sikh women and gender violence. She published in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Mondi Migranti, Religioni e Società and Quaderni di Sociologia. Besides her academic commitments, she collaborates with the anti-violence centre of Modena in Italy.