Italian-American Studies Archives - Queens College Library

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.

Forty Years of Italian-American Government Employment in New York City and New York State by Vincenzo Milione; Itala Pelizzoli; Carmine Pizzirusso

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.

Research Services Librarian Alexandra de Luise, liaison for Italian American Studies, presents highlights from the Italian American Studies Guide.

Welcome! The month of October has been designated Italian American Heritage month – although it has been known to stretch from September to December. It is a time of reflection and coming together- via Zoom lectures, Youtube talks, poetry events and more- to highlight Italian American heritage and culture in all its many facets for this fifth largest ethnic group in the United States. Aspects of our history, such as immigration, assimilation, family life, and social history, are well known to most. But present day scholars, including some writing from outside the U.S., are delving into new areas, including transnationalism, diaspora, food culture, film, gender, and sexuality.

Featured E-Resources and Websites

i-Italy ‘A guide to everything Italian in America.” A fascinating bilingual blog/magazine/website of information and video clips, the project of the John D Calandra Italian American Institute.

Italian American Studies Association (formerly American Italian Historical Assn.) Association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of the culture, history, literature, sociology, psychology, demography, folklore, and politics of Italians in America.

Italics, Television for the Italian American Experience. The Italian American magazine of CUNYTV, the online television program, produced by the John D Calandra Italian American Institute, hosted by Dr. Anthony Julian Tamburri, Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute.

Featured E-Books