Defense Date

11-17-2014

Graduation Date

Fall 2014

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

thesis

Degree Name

MA

Department

Graduate Center for Social and Public Policy

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Douglas Harper

Committee Member

Charles Hanna

Keywords

Immigration, Italian-Americans

Abstract

This study is a historical research that used content analysis of secondary sources (newspapers, magazines, literature, movies and sociological studies) in order to describe Italian immigration in America. The research is focused on Italian-American communities in the areas of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.

Between 1880 and 1920, Italian-Americans became one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. For a long period, they faced discrimination and lived at the edge of the American society. Education, immigration and urban policies influenced the social structure of the Italian communities. Later, second generation immigrants started writing books and making movies that expressed a different perception of the Italian-American identity. At the same time, in 1950s and 1960s, the Italian economy boosted, and the Italy started to be associated with culture, beauty, fashion and style. Thus, in the last decades Italian-Americans became proud of their ethnic heritage.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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