MA Thesis on New York Italian culture
Ciao everyone!!
I’m an Italian student in American Studies, and I posted here some months ago asking whether anyone might be willing to share family keepsakes/memories for my MA thesis project:
https://www.reddit.com/r/italianamerican/comments/1p8dexw/comment/oha2ypd/
Life happened and I had to put the project on hold for a while :( but now I’m finally working on it again, and the topic has evolved a bit.
I’m currently developing a thesis on Italian American identity in New York between the late 19th century and the present, with a particular focus on how ethnic identity has been expressed through:
- urban space and neighborhood life
- religious rituals and processions
- food culture
- storefronts/signs and everyday visual culture
- ethnic newspapers
- and, later on, media/digital spaces (which would of course cover the digital era and are easier to find)
I’m approaching the topic historically, but also through anthropology and cultural/media studies
At the moment I’m searching for primary sources related to Italian American communities in NYC, especially things like:
- family archives
- photographs
- oral histories
- old newspapers
- parish documents
- feast/procession photos
- menus or store signs
- neighborhood maps
- letters/diaries
I would especially appreciate anything authentic and personal, even small memories or objects connected to family/community life. Of course, I would properly credit anything used in the research.
Thank you so much in advance, and thank you again to everyone who helped me the first time I posted here :)