Italian American

Italian-American Culture When most people hear the term Italian-American, they begin to think of the Godfather, Rocky, the mafia, or even Fonzie from Happy Days. But, Italian-America is much more than the characters portrayed in films. Italian-American culture is a culture that has evolved through history despite discrimination and hardships. While they faced prejudice at first, they are now seen as a monumental contributor to the immensely diverse culture of the United States of America known as the great American melting pot. Introduction: History of Italian-American Culture In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, a surge of immigrants came from around the world. One of the countries of origin of immigrants was Italy.…

The Italian American Discourse Community During the past couple of weeks I have been observing the Italian discourse community, which I am apart of as my immediate family are Italian-Americans. Through the many observations, I have been able to grasp a better understanding on how distinct the Italian-American community is in comparison to the other communities around me. I examined the community Italian-American discourse community rigorously and I found many characteristics that make the…

Thanks to shows like Jersey Shore, the Italian culture as a whole is completely misinterpreted. When I visited my cousin in Rome, I was amazed at how inaccurate that show’s representation of Italians really was and how different the Italian culture was compared to what I grew up thinking and experiencing with my own family. My own experience when I visited Italy inspired me to research and discuss the differences between each country and how they represent the Italian culture. Food is one of the…

to retain opposing values, traditions, and beliefs, every culture preserves an innate purpose or lesson that can subsist valuable. Personally, I would love to travel to Italy, not only to experience the landscape, but also to perceive how the overall Italian culture contrasts to my European culture. When I speak of the Italian culture, I am reflecting on the overall values, beliefs, and traditions of the Italians, rather than a direct group or location within Italy. With a vast array of…

treatment of Italian American immigrants during the time between the end of the nineteenth century up to around the time of the end of the Second World War, extending but beyond that if necessary. Through my initial research I've discovered that Italian Americans experienced large amounts of racial discrimination, stereotyping, and struggles of assimilation during this time. I want to understand why this discrimination occurred, and what changed to where Italians become a much more accepted…

The origin of the Mafia began in Sicily, Italy. The migration to America begun when Don Vito Ferro of the “La Costra Nostra” had to flee to New York from Sicily. Don Vito Ferro was escaping from an angry enemy. Accordingly, Mussolini, the fatal prime minister of Italy, worked to try to exterminate the Mafia in Italy. With a push from Mussolini, many members of the Mafia began to flee to America throughout the 1900’s (History of the Mob). About twenty years later from the root of Italian American…

Negative stereotypes of Italian Americans have gone through several changes. None the less, the more prominent stereotypes have found their way into modern day society. Similarly to other immigrant groups, Italians were seen as an inferior race and they were often compared to black Americans since they were accustomed to the same work skills. There were many stereotypes that applied to the Italian American, this group of people was often categorized as dangerous, inferior, disloyal, etc. Even…

Italian-American Assessment Americans typically use the famous rhyme “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” in order to remember when and by whom the United States was founded. However, people of Italian descent often look at this saying with a sense of pride due to the fact that the well-known explorer, Christopher Columbus, was Italian. Additionally, the name America stems from yet another Italian voyager, Amerigo Vespucci (Spector, 2013, p. 331). This sense of Italian pride and identity in…

The one thing they all have in common is the piazza. The piazza is the main focal points for any Italian gatherings or celebrations. Some Italians will have discussions about politics, food, wine or sports; like any American household. In the early mornings many people have not gotten up, but once the sun rises you can see an outpour of venetians heading out to work to begin their day (www.understandingitaly.com). According to www.understandin italian.com they stated that “although Italian is…

For most Italian-American families, women are the ones responsible for cooking dinner while the men traditionally sit back and rest after a long day of work, but that was never the case in my home. Once my dad walked through the door, he would take off his blazer, put on his apron, and cook dinner as my mom laid on the couch in our living room and watched TV. For my dad, every day was spent facing the ups and down of a turbulent stock market, and cooking was a lifelong passion of his that always…