Italian American Sociological Studies

Southern Italian woman carrying piecework to her home in New York City.

Sociologists have analyzed Italian American social structure with emphasis on conflict and acculturation; education with regard to the conflict between the Italian family and American society as it is expressed in the public school system; Italian Amer ican health, nutrition and cleanliness all three of which were often in conflict with mainstream American attitudes; religion especially the dichotomy that developed between Italian and the ruling Irish Catholic clergy; and crime, deliquency, and social d eviance that Italian Americans often practiced either in gangs, traditional paesani extortion (i.e. La Mano Nera), and the complex of attitudes and behaviors expressed by the Italian American Mafia.

Sociological researchers have argued whether or not "Italian traits" came to this country intact or were a blend of elements of the American rural and urban experiences. The most anti-diffusionists would concede that traditional Italian habits continue d in this country long after immigration even in the most unlikely settings where new social structures are continually evolving. For example in this 1915 photograph held by the Library of Congress, an Italian garment worker is bringing pieces home to fin ish. Like many she worked at the factory with her compatriots making clothes and then would take the patterns and spend the evenings sewing them to make extra money. The social scientist explains that this lady finds it easier transport the bulky mass on her head because that was the Italian way of carrying things common in her country for centuries especially in the mountainous regions. Here in the New York City, however, she appears incongruous following an old traditional pattern as she moves through a modern urban landscape where vehicles or carrying bags would be used. Yet she will not adapt or giving up a way of doing things she has known all her life. Furthermore she probably does not feel comfortable being alone. In her paese it was commo n for the peasant women to walk together as a group balancing jugs, clothing, and other items on their heads passing the time as they made their way back to their hovels. Such is the hold of traditional social custom on the Italian American ethnic.

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Social Structure

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Education

Brunialti, Attilio. "Un scuole italiane fuori d'Italia." Nuova Antologia (Aprile 1884).

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Health, Nutrition, and Sanitation

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Religion

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Criminal Behavior and Social Deviance

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