Leaving Little Italy: Essaying Italian American Culture

Fred L. Gardaphé

Feb 2012 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

Leaving Little Italy explores the various forces that have shaped and continue to mold Italian American culture. Early chapters offer a historical survey of major developments in Italian American culture, from the early mass immigration period to the present day, situating these developments within the larger framework of American culture as a whole. Subsequent chapters examine particular works of Italian American literature and film from a variety of perspectives, including literary history, gender, social class, autobiography, and race. Paying particular attention to how the individual artist's personality has intersected with community in the shaping of Italian American culture, the book reveals how and why Italian America was invented and why Little Italys must ultimately disappear.

About the author

Fred L. Gardaphe directs the American and Italian/American Studies Programs at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. He is the author and editor of many books, including Italian Signs, American Streets: The Evolution of Italian American Narrative; Dagoes Read: Tradition and the Italian/American Writer; and From the Margin: Writings in Italian Americana.