Book
Ethnicity in the sunbelt: Italian American migrants in Scottsdale, Arizona
AMS Press • New York • Published In 1989 • Pages: xix, 361
By: Martinelli, Phylis Cancilla.
Abstract
According to Martinelli a major issue in ethnic studies is whether descendants of European immigrants have a strong sense of ethnic identity or if members of these groups are close to total assimilation into the culture of the host society. To test the validity of this issue Martinelli examines a group of Italian American migrants to Scottsdale, Arizona; a place far removed from contact with any traditional ethnic enclave. A number of scales were used in conjunction with a selected set of variables to test for evidence of ethnicity. The scales used were the Italian American Family Attitude scale, Identificational Ethnic scale, Cultural Ethnicity scale, National Ethnic scale, Structural Behavior Ethnicity scale, Religious Ethnicity scale, and the Food, Language and Music scale. The variables were generation, birth cohort, occupation, education, sex, length of time in Arizona, being married endogamously or exogamously, and being raised in a city with a major Italian American population or raised elsewhere (p. xix). Martinelli's findings indicate "…a lack of significant differences among many of the variables some, for example generation, showed some evidence of declining ethnicity. A fairly cohesive set of attitudes, behavior, and feelings was found among the generally upwardly mobile, middle-class respondents. The majority of the respondents were in the moderate ethnicity category, determined by testing McKay and Lewins' ethnic typology, and were characterized by an emergent ethnicity, termed symbolic ethnicity. It appears that ethnicity still has some salience for the respondents in this study" (pp. xix-xx).
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Sociologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle ; 1999
- Field Date
- 1982-1983
- Coverage Date
- 1860-1980s
- Coverage Place
- Scottsdale, Ariz., United States
- Notes
- Phylis Cancilla Martinelli
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 260-283) and index
- LCSH
- Italian Americans