Heritage Italian American Style

"1776 questions and answers for Italians (and those who wish they were) on the significant contributions Italians and Italian Americans have made to the world in the following categories : Food, music, art, entertainment, science, literature, history, geography, business, sports, Romans."--Cover.

First published in 1999. The many available scholarly works on Italian-Americans are perhaps of little practical help to the undergraduate or high school student who needs background information when reading contemporary fiction with Italian characters, watching films that require a familiarity with Italian Americans, or looking at works of art that can be fully appreciated only if one understands Italian culture. This basic reference work for non-specialists and students offers quick insights and essential, easy-to-grasp information on Italian-American contributions to American art, music, literature, motion pictures and cultural life. This rich legacy is examined in a collection of original essays that include portrayals of Italian characters in the films of Francis Coppola, Italian American poetry, the art of Frank Stella, the music of Frank Zappa, a survey of Italian folk customs and an analysis of the evolution of Italian-American biography. Comprising 22 lengthy essays written specifically for this volume, the book identifies what is uniquely Italian in American life and examines how Italian customs, traditions, social mores and cultural antecedents have wrought their influence on the American character. Filled with insights, observations and ethnic facts and fictions, this volume should prove to be a valuable source of information for scholars, researchers and students interested in pinpointing and examining the cultural, intellectual and social influence of Italian immigrants and their successors.

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. Contributors offer a continuous series of cultural encounters and experiences in television, literature, and film that deserve the attention of anyone interested in the larger themes of American history.

From Saturday Night Fever to Jersey Shore, Italian American youth in New York City have appropriated—and been appropriated by—popular American culture. Here, Donald Tricarico investigates how Italian ethnicity has been used to fashion Guido as a distinct youth style that signals inclusion in popular American culture and, simultaneously, the making of a new ethnic subject. Emerging from a wave of Italian immigration after World War II in outer borough neighborhoods such as Bensonhurst, the story of the Guido is an Italian American story, symbolizing the negotiation of a negatively privileged ethnicity within American society. Tricarico takes up questions about the definition of Guido, the role of disco, and the identity politics of Jersey Shore in order to reconsider the significance of Guido for the study of Italian American ethnicity.

Gathers Italian-American style recipes for appetizers, soups, pasta, main dishes, vegetables, bread, pizza, and desserts

Yo Capeesh!!!! is a humorous, nostalgic, educational and sentimental guide to Italian Americana. It was written in a way that would appeal to many of the 25 million Italian Americans and those familiar with them. It is especially useful for those individuals smitten with the Italian American media. Using humor as its main focus, portions of the book are educational and can be used by all as a reference. It not only addresses Italian American heroes, songs and traditions but also phonetically and occasionally pictorially defines typical clichés, mannerisms, speech and food used in movies, TV and the stereotypical Italian American home. For those who are infatuated with the Mob, a chapter entitled “How the boys say it” explains many of the expressions and origins of organized crime vernacular. This chapter was included because of the somewhat crazed interest for this media genre and is sensitive to the majority of Italian Americans it does not represent. Briefly, Yo Capeesh!!!! is a whimsical, entertaining guide that has widespread appeal not only for Italian Americans but also for those who are interested in the allure and mystique of this unique and pervasive sub-culture.