“Il Nuovo Mondo:” Italian Contributions to American Culture

Between 1880 and 1920, more than four millions Italians migrated to the U.S.A. In this course we will explore this diaspora in historical, social, and economic terms by analyzing the situation in Italy in the 1860s and 1870s and the perception of the new world as a “promised land.” We will consider the hardship of the uprooting experience of every migrant, the conflicts with previous immigrants, and the problems of cultural integration. We will also examine the Italian-American contributions to various areas of American life (e.g. music, food, etc.) We will also explore the exceptional situation of Italians in Vermont.