The Italians in America, from Transculturation to Identity Renegotiation

Abstract

The experience of Italians in the United States should not be viewed in terms of rupture with Italian life but rather in a perspective of continuity even if the American environment influenced the immigrants’ lifestyle. The interaction between their communities and American society led to an Italian-American identity born out of a renegotiation of their original identities, the building of a national consciousness, and their Americanization. Hence they became white ethnics.