American Woman, Italian Style: Italian Americana's Best Writings on Women

by Carol Bonomo Albright, Christine Palamidessi Moore

Overview

With writings that span more than thirty-five years, American Woman, Italian Style is a rich collection of essays that fleshes out the realities of today's Italian American women and explores the myriad ways they continue to add to the American experience. The status of modern Italian-American women in the United States isnoteworthy: their quiet and continued growth into respected positions in the professional worlds of law and medicine surpasses the success achieved in that of the general population-so too does their educational attainment and income.Contributions include Donna Gabaccia on the oral-to-written history of cookbooks, Carol Helstosky on the Tradition of Invention, an interview with Sandra Gilbert, Paul Levitt's look at Lucy Mancini as a metaphor for the modern world, William Egelman's survey of women's work patterns, and Edvige Giunta on the importance of a selfconscious understanding of memory. There are explorations of Jewish-Italian intermarriages and interpretations of entrepreneurship in Milwaukee. Readers will find challenges to common assumptions and stereotypes, departures from normal samplings, and springboards to further research.American Woman, Italian Style: Italian Americana's Best Writings on Women offers unique insights into issues of gender and ethnicity and is a voice for the less heard and less seen side of the Italian-American experience from immigrant times to the present. Instead of seeking consensus or ideological orthodoxy, this collectionbrings together writers with a wide range of backgrounds, outlooks, ideas, and experiences. It is an impressive postmodern collection for interdisciplinary studies: a book and a look about being and becoming an American.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823231751
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	01/03/2011
Edition description:	3
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

CAROL BONOMO ALBRIGHT is editor in chief of Italian Americana and former vice-president of the American Italian Historical Association. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

CHRISTINE PALAMIDESSI MOORE is the author of two novels, The Virgin Knows and The Fiddle Case, and is senior editor and web editor at Italian Americana. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Each piece in this rich book make it clear that the history of Italian women in America represents a subject worthy of extensive scholarly investigation. Taken as a whole this anthology shows that Italian American women have had a history worthy of serious attention.

New York University - Hasia R. Diner

This collection brings together an impressive body of scholarship on a very fertile (and yet, as the editors point out in their introduction, still largely untapped) field of study in history, sociology, art history, literature and psychology. The essays are of the highest caliber and reflect on the experiences of Italian-American women in fields as varied and far-flung as cooking, working, aging, sculpting, writing, bringing up children, and dealing with men in a plethora of circumstances. It simply represents necessary reading for all interested in US history, Italian diaspora, Italian-American issues, and gender/women's studies.

University of Miami - Maria Galli Stampino

This scholarly collection offers provocative insight into the world of Italian-American women from the big wave of immigration to the cusp of the 21st century. Will appeal to anyone intersted in Italian-American culture, gender studies, gastronomy, and ethnicity.

author of At the Copa - Marisa Labozzetta

'"An important collection that brings together many of the foundational,
interdisciplinary essays that helped to establish Italian American women's studies."

Smith College - Jennifer Guglielmo

From candid chats with the neighborhood ladies, to portraits of a breathtaking array of artists,
to the importance of work, family and - oh yes!- the handing down of traditional recipes, Carol Bonomo Albright and Christine Palamidessi Moore have put together a feast of Italian-American writings. The fact that it's women centered makes it especially delicious.

Nancy Savoca

From candid chats with the neighborhood ladies, to portraits of a breathtaking array of artists, to the importance of work, family and - oh yes!- the handing down of traditional recipes, Carol Bonomo Albright and Christine Palamidessi Moore have put together a feast of Italian-American writings. The fact that it's women centered makes it especially delicious.-Nancy Savoca

Essays explore the lives of today's Italian American women and describe their contributions to the American experience.

'An important collection that brings together many of the foundational,interdisciplinary essays that helped to establish Italian Americanwomen's studies.-Jennifer Guglielmo

"Offers unique insights into issues of gender and ethnicity and is a voice for the less-heard and less-seen side of the Italian-American experience from immigrant times to the present."-Smoki Bacon, Beacon Hill Patch

"In counteracting the pervasive image of the 'guidette' that media is increasingly presenting as quintessentially Italian American to the young generations, collections such as Albright's and Moore's act as an antidote as well as a beacon signalling the need for additional studies on the impact Italian American women have on contemporary society." -Gina M. Miele, Montclair State University

From the Publisher