Feeling Italian

The Art of Ethnicity in America

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Emigration & Immigration
Cover of the book Feeling Italian by Thomas J. Ferraro, NYU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas J. Ferraro ISBN: 9780814728390
Publisher: NYU Press Publication: May 1, 2005
Imprint: NYU Press Language: English
Author: Thomas J. Ferraro
ISBN: 9780814728390
Publisher: NYU Press
Publication: May 1, 2005
Imprint: NYU Press
Language: English

2006 American Book Award, presented by the Before Columbus Foundation
Southern Italian emigration to the United States peaked a full century ago—;descendents are now fourth and fifth generation, dispersed from their old industrial neighborhoods, professionalized, and fully integrated into the “melting pot.” Surely the social historians are right: Italian Americans are fading into the twilight of their ethnicity. So, why is the American imagination enthralled by The Sopranos, and other portraits of Italian-ness?
Italian American identity, now a mix of history and fantasy, flesh-and-bone people and all-too-familiar caricature, still has something to teach us, including why each of us, as citizens of the U.S. twentieth century and its persisting cultures, are to some extent already Italian. Contending that the media has become the primary vehicle of Italian sensibilities, Ferraro explores a series of books, movies, paintings, and records in ten dramatic vignettes. Featured cultural artifacts run the gamut, from the paintings of Joseph Stella and the music of Frank Sinatra to The Godfather’s enduring popularity and Madonna’s Italian background. In a prose style as vivid as his subjects, Ferraro fashions a sardonic love song to the art and iconography of Italian America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

2006 American Book Award, presented by the Before Columbus Foundation
Southern Italian emigration to the United States peaked a full century ago—;descendents are now fourth and fifth generation, dispersed from their old industrial neighborhoods, professionalized, and fully integrated into the “melting pot.” Surely the social historians are right: Italian Americans are fading into the twilight of their ethnicity. So, why is the American imagination enthralled by The Sopranos, and other portraits of Italian-ness?
Italian American identity, now a mix of history and fantasy, flesh-and-bone people and all-too-familiar caricature, still has something to teach us, including why each of us, as citizens of the U.S. twentieth century and its persisting cultures, are to some extent already Italian. Contending that the media has become the primary vehicle of Italian sensibilities, Ferraro explores a series of books, movies, paintings, and records in ten dramatic vignettes. Featured cultural artifacts run the gamut, from the paintings of Joseph Stella and the music of Frank Sinatra to The Godfather’s enduring popularity and Madonna’s Italian background. In a prose style as vivid as his subjects, Ferraro fashions a sardonic love song to the art and iconography of Italian America.

More books from NYU Press

Cover of the book Film as Religion by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Beyond the Mountains of the Damned by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book After the Rebellion by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book A Rabble in Arms by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Dreaming Blackness by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Failing Our Veterans by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Postmodern Legal Movements by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Paranoid Science by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Inside Insurgency by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book In The Company Of Black Men by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Death Makes the News by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Leaving Prostitution by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Transpacific Antiracism by Thomas J. Ferraro
Cover of the book Women, Love, and Power by Thomas J. Ferraro
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy