Anti-Italianism: Essays on a Prejudice (Italian and Italian American Studies) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 023010830X ISBN 13: 9780230108301

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

Synopsis

There has been an odd reluctance on the part of historians of the Italian American experience to confront the discrimination faced by Italians and Americans of Italian ancestry. This volume is a bold attempt by an esteemed group of scholars and writers to discuss the question openly by charting the historical and cultural boundaries of stereotypes, prejudice, and assimilation. Contributors offer a continuous series of cultural encounters and experiences in television, literature, and film that deserve the attention of anyone interested in the larger themes of American history.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"From its bold introduction, through its superb research on racism and intelligence testing, to its intensely challenging concluding essay, this stylish collection is by turns deeply historical ... impressively interdisciplinary, and productively combative.  United in their themes, but not outlook, the selections offer constant surprises and much food for thought."  -- David Roediger, Babcock Professor of History, University of Illinois.

"This is one of those rare books that narrate an important and forgotten story--the experience of American anti-Italianism, recounting it in a rigorous and touching manner.  Italian Americans must know this story to be aware of how painful it was for their parents and grandparents to be accepted in America.  Italians must learn it to know how painful the discrimination is that they now too often inflict on their own immigrants." -- Maurizio Viroli, Professor of Politics, Princeton University, USI, and Collegio San Paolo (Turin).

"At first blush, 'anti-Italianism' seems like a comic punch line, the premise of a Sopranos or Jersey Shore episode....  Yet behind wisecracks about gangsters and 'Guidos' there lies a complex history of pervasive exclusion and persistent stereotyping, of defiant bravado, and habitual self-deprecation... [T]he history of anti-Italian prejudice has much to tell us not only about Italian Americans but also about the past and future of America." -- James T. Campbell, Edgar E. Robinson Professor of United States History, Stanford University.

About the Author

William J. Connell holds the Joseph M. and Geraldine C. La Motta Chair in Italian Studies at Seton Hall University.  He has published numerous books on Italian history.  In 2009 he was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the Deputazione di Storia Patria per la Toscana. 

Fred Gardaphé is Distinguished Professor of Literature, CUNY. He is the editor of Italian American Ways; Shades of Black and White: Conflict and Collaboration Between Two Communities; and From the Margin: Writings in Italian Americana, among others.

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 023010830X
• ISBN 13: 9780230108301
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 210
• Editor: William J. Connell, Fred Gardaphe