5. We’ll learn about
• Italy’s contribution to American culture
• Italy’s history from unification in 1861
• Geography
• Identity issues
• Regional linguistic differences
• Italian art
• Italian literature
• Italian cinema
…and much more!
12. Primary causes for emigration
(1898-1914)
• Lack of modernization in agricultural system
• Disease destroyed crops at end of the 1800s
• Economy cannot compete with foreign
products invading the Italian market
• Price of wheat fell drastically
13. The invention of steamship gave
impetus to emigration.
• Enlisting laborers
• arranging travel documents
• booking passengers
• lending money for the trip
• selling the emigrant’s land and house
became an important source of income
14. Factors that might have influenced the
choice of the destination:
• Previous immigrant
flows
• Information from the
“new countries”
• (supposed) Job
opportunities
16. The project of their stay influenced the
choice of occupation:
• Masons
• Stonecutters
• Barbers
• Shoemakers
• Seamstresses
17. Most immigrants were from rural
areas but settled in cities and
suburbs forming “little Italies”
18. The unification of Italy took place in
1861.
• Until Fascism promoted the idea of a unified
nation within one state, people felt a stronger
tie to their “paese” (town) than to the
“Stivale” (boot).
• Most immigrants came to the US before the
advent of Fascism.
• Most were illiterate and the “national”
heritage meant nothing to them.
19. In only a couple of decades Italians
have excelled in all fields of endeavor
…
• Italian American directors and producers:
Nicola Kim Coppola
