by Carlo Minchillo, Substitute Librarian for Research & Information Services
The Queens College Library celebrates Italian American Heritage & Culture Month this October, where we acknowledge the history of Italian immigrants and Italian Americans, their journeys and experiences in America, and their contributions to our society. Our leaders have continuously called upon Americans to learn more about the history of Italian Americans through education, programming, and participation in cultural events.
In that spirit, we have compiled a list of books/ebooks, streaming films/television series, streaming music, and scholarly works in Italian-American studies that are available through our print and digital collections at the Queens College Library. The full list can be found in our updated library guide. Here are some highlights to get you started.
Historical Facts
About 5.5 million Italians immigrated to the U.S. between 1820 and 2004. The greatest influx of migration took place between 1880 and 1920 when over 4 million Italians came to America.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, born in Brooklyn, NY, has been the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. He is well-known for his work in HIV-AIDS research and combating outbreaks of the West Nile virus, SARS, Ebola, and COVID-19.
An Italian-American broke the gender barrier in U.S. politics. Geraldine Ferraro, a schoolteacher turned criminal prosecutor and congresswoman from Queens, was the first woman on a major party ticket, running for vice president alongside presidential candidate Walter Mondale.
Reading Recommendations
Anti-Italianism by William J. Connell (Editor); Fred Gardaphe
(Editor)
Call Number: E184 .I8 A55 2010
ISBN: 9780230108295
Publication Date: 2011-09-28
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.
Rosa by Marie Hall Ets; Helen Barolini (Introduction by); Rudolph Vecoli (Foreword by)
Call Number: E184 .I8 E8 1999
ISBN: 9780299162542
Publication Date: 1999-03-31
This is the life story of Rosa Cavalleri, an Italian woman who came to the United States in 1884, one of the peak years in the nineteenth-century wave of immigration. A vivid, richly detailed account, the narrative traces Rosa’s life in an Italian peasant village and later in Chicago.
Profiles of Italian Americans by Cosmo F. Ferrara (Editor)
Call Number: E184 .I8 F47 2010
ISBN: 9781599540160
Publication Date: 2010-06-15
The large majority of the twenty million Italian Americans are law-abiding, hard-working, and accomplished. Yet the image of Italian Americans is often distorted by stereotypes portrayed in popular media. This book counters those stereotypes with brief sketches of Italian Americans who have achieved success and enriched the lives of others.
Italian Immigrant Radical Culture by Marcella Bencivenni
Call Number: E184 .I8 B46 2011
ISBN: 9780814791035
Publication Date: 2011-05-09
Maligned by modern media and often stereotyped, Italian Americans possess a vibrant, if largely forgotten, radical past. Bencivenni delves into the history of the sovversivi, a transnational genration of social rebels, and offers a fascinating portrait of their political struggle as well as their milieu, beliefs, and artistic creativity in the United States.
Call Number: E184.I8 F67 2015
ISBN: 9781939323057
Publication Date: 2015-04-01
This study reviews forty years of Italian-American government employment in New York City and New York State. The study analyzes the percentage of Italian Americans in 411 New York State and 391 New York City occupations, including management and professional, service, and skilled and unskilled government employment.