essay

Beyond the 'Godfather' image: the role of Italian-Americans in the development of America

Italian Americans through the generationsStaten Island, New YorkPublished In 1986 • Pages: 157-168

By: Alessandrini, Anthony Peter.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The central theme of this paper is '…to show that generations of Italian-Americans can resolve their contradictory feelings about their ITALO-AMERICANITA only by learning about the whole Italian-American experience' (p. 157). Italian American history, according to Alessandrini, goes back several centuries before the recent period of migration to the United States and is intertwined in America with roots of the development of the new nation. The development of that experience and the realization of its importance had been increasingly obscured by the rise of the rather negative 'Godfather' image that emphasizes the more recent past and neglects much earlier history.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Reviews and critiques
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Ethos
Cultural identity and pride
Literature
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Italian Americans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Historian
Indigenous Person
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1991
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
No date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
United States
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Anthony Peter Alessandrini
Includes bibliography
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Italian Americans