The Italian American Experience

The first encyclopedia to offer comprehensive coverage of the history and cultural contributions of Italian Americans The millions of Italians who have migrated to the United States over the last two centuries have played a crucial--and at times little recognized--role in the history of their adopted country. This encyclopedia, the first book of its kind, presents the totality of the Italian American experience. The coverage includes such broad topics as the influence of Italian Americans on politics and society and their contributions to art and to the development of Catholicism in the United States. The book also offers unique insights into previously neglected topics such as anti-Italian discrimination in the United States, which is both a historical phenomenon and a contemporary social issue; Italian American organizations, groups, and archival depositories, all of which form a rich resource for the study of the Italian American experience; the role and status of Italian American women; issues of assimilation; and Italian Americans in the media. Biographical entries on prominent historic and contemporary Italian Americans Italian Americans have participated in every occupation and endeavor in American life throughout history. The breathtaking range and depth of their contributions are reflected in the extensive biographical coverage in The Italian American Experience . Included are such diverse figures as Constantino Brumidi, Vivian Della Chiesa, the Grucci family, Fiorello LaGuardia, Madonna, Antonin Scalia, Rosa Ponselle, Frank Sinatra, Frank Stella, and Joseph Zappulla. The biographies are valuable prism through which to examine the richness and diversity of the Italian American experience. A major contribution to furthering the understanding of America's multicultural heritage In a time when many people in the United States are concerned about the influx of new immigrants and with the issues relating to American pluralism, this book provides a detailed account of how the largest ethnic group in America at the beginning of the 1900s dealt with the process of accommodation and assimilation.