When southern Italians began emigrating to the U.S. in large numbers in the 1870s-part of the new immigration from southern and eastern rather than northern Europe-they were seen as racially inferior, what David A. J. Richards terms nonvisibly black. The first study of its kind, Italian American explores the acculturation process of Italian immigrants in terms of then-current patterns of European and American racism. Delving into the political and legal context of flawed liberal nationalism both in Italy (the Risorgimento) and the United States (Reconstruction Amendments), Richards examines why Italian Americans were so reluctant to influence depictions of themselves and their own collective identity. He argues that American racism could not have had the durability or political power it has had either in the popular understanding or in the corruption of constitutional ideals unless many new immigrants, themselves often regarded as racially inferior, had been drawn into accepting and supporting many of the terms of American racism. With its unprecedented focus on Italian American identity and an interdisciplinary approach to comparative culture and law, this timely study sheds important light on the history and contemporary importance of identity and multicultural politics in American political and constitutional debate.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
New York University Press
ISBN-13
9780814775202
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94374833
Product Key Features
Author
David A.J. Richards
Publication Name
Italian American: the Racializing of an Ethnic Identity
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Subject
Social Sciences, History
Publication Year
1999
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
288 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
540g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
David A.J. Richards
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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