John D. Calandra Italian American Institute: Academic & Cultural Programs

2008-2009 | 2007-2008 |2006-2007 | 2005-2006

2004-2005 | 2003-2004 | 2002-2003 | 2001-2002

2000-2001

. The Philip V. Cannistraro Seminar Series in Italian American Studies

. "Writers Read" Series

. Thursday, April 6, 2006: "Mediated Ethnicity: Italian Americans and the Cinematic Experience" Symposium and Film Series

Thursday, May 4, 2006, 10 AM-1 PM
"Narrating Race and Italianità: Language and Text in the Construction of Race and Italian Americans" Symposium, Queens College

Film Series

Thursday, April 27, 2006, 7-10PM
"Little Kings" (2003), Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno

Tuesday, May 2, 2006, 7-10PM
"Mac" (1992), John Turturro

Friday, May 5, 2006, 7-10PM
"Ciao America" (2002), Frank Ciota

Special Guest Presentation

Monday, May 22, 2006, 6 PM

Buried Caesars, and Other Secrets of Italian American Writing

Robert Viscusi, Brooklyn College

In his new book Buried Caesars, and Other Secrets of Italian American Writing (SUNY Press, 2006), Robert Viscusi explores the connections between language and culture in Italian American experience and major literary texts. Italian immigrants, Viscusi argues, considered even their English to be a dialect of Italian, and therefore attempted to create an American English fully reflective of their historical, social, and cultural positions. This approach allows us to see Italian American purposes as profoundly situated in relation not only to American language and culture but also to Italian nationalist narratives in literary history and linguistic practice. Viscusi also situates Italian American writing within the “eccentric design” of American literature, and uses a multidisciplinary approach to read novels, poems, and other cultural productions as texts.