University of Oklahoma

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE ITALIAN AMERICAN IDENTITY: A HERMENEUTIC EXAMINATION OF TAMPA'S ITALIAN COMMUNITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By DENISE LYNN SCANNELL Norman, Oklahoma 2007 UMI Number: 3253701 UMI Microform 3253701 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 ITALIAN AMERICAN IDENTITY: A HERMENEUTIC EXAMINATION OF TAMPA'S ITALIAN COMMUNITY A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION BY _____________________________________ Dr.Eric Mark Kramer _____________________________________ Dr. Dan O'Hair _____________________________________ Dr. Todd Sandel _____________________________________ Dr. Lisa Foster _____________________________________ Dr. David Mair © Copyright by DENISE LYNN SCANNELL 2007 All Rights Reserved. Acknowledgements I owe thanks to many people for helping make this dissertation possible and whose influence not only inspired this project, but also my life. I thank my committee chair, Dr. Eric Kramer for his vigorous commitment to my education. His direction and approach were critical to completing this study and my overall academic experience. I thank Dr. Dan O'Hair, committee member, for his ongoing approachability during this process, as well as advising me on a number of things. I thank Dr. Todd Sandel, committee member, for his valuable insights and feedback concerning this dissertation. I thank Dr. Lisa Foster, committee member, for taking on my project at the last minute, and under unpleasant circumstances. I thank Dr. David Mair, committee member and friend, who has given me unconditional support over years. I also thank Dr. Larry Wieder, who taught me everything I know about ethnographic methodology. I admire all three of these people for their endless support and devotion to students at the University of Oklahoma. In addition, I thank my parents, Paulette Peters, Robert Peters, and Jack Scannell, who taught me to believe in myself, and whose words of encouragement kept me going throughout the years. I thank my sister, Nicole Scannell for being my biggest fan and my best friend. I thank my Norman circle of friends, Kosta Tovstiadi, Magda Igiel, and Jenny Fischer for their long distance emotional support when life took sudden and difficult turns. I also owe thanks to David Worth for guiding me through the initial milestones of this project and George Guida for encouragement and patience during the final stages. Finally, I owe mille grazie to the Italian community of Tampa who taught me what it means to be Italian. iv Lastly, I dedicate this dissertation to my Mother, who provided me with unconditional love, strength, and support. At last, she can retire. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv Abstract viii Chapter I: Introduction 1 Relevance of Study 3 Italian American Identity 6 Italian Assimilation 11 Race 11 Language 14 Mobility 16 Generational Differences 19 Purpose and Objectives 24 Research Questions 26 Outline of Study 26 Chapter II: Literature Review 27 Intercultural Communication 28 Intergroup Identity 35 Assimilation: past and Present 43 Adaptation Model: The Resurrection 47 Functional Fitness 49 Psychological Health 50 Intercultural Personhood 51 Cross Cultural Adaptation Model: Another Interpretation 52 vi Functioning to Fit 53 Psychologically Healthy People 58 Adaptation Growth: Circle or Line 62 Italian American Literature 66 Chapter III: Hermeneutic Examination of Italian American Identity 72 Gadamer 78 Hermeneutic Circle 81 Hermeneutic Horizons 82 Cultural Fusion Theory 84 Chapter IV: Italians in Florida, Methodology, and Reflection 88 Italians 91 Methodology 102 Reflections 111 Chapter V: The Horizon of Three Identities 112 Data Analysis of Latin Identity 113 Data Analysis of Italic Identity 161 Data Analysis of Italian American Identity 193 Chapter VI: Summery and Conclusion 237 References 250 vii Abstract This study focuses on how diverse interpretations of ethnicity within the United States produce meaning for Italian Americans. Research regarding Italian Americans and the effects of negative stereotypes, cultural products, and organized crime is plentiful, but the dialogue concerning the de-ethnicizing effect of assimilation on Italian American culture is limited (Barolini, 1985; Tamburri, 1998). Assimilation carries a specific discourse that functions as both an ideology and a system of control. As an ideology, it offers a positivistic solution to the dilemma of human difference. As a system of control, it organizes peoples' lives into a one-size-fits all framework. Moreover, the communication field, and the social sciences in general, lack a clear understanding of what it means to be both Italian and American at the same time because there is no consensus on its singular definition (Krase, 2005). The object of this study is to develop insights that allow communication scholars to understand the intercultural complexity associated with an "assimilated status" and to explore the dynamics of this culturally produced truth. This study attempts to look beyond the external signs of pragmatic assimilation and reveal the internal expression of Italian American culture. This study is a hermeneutic examination of the assimilated status of Italian Americans and the application of the assimilation narrative told by and for the Italian American community. Finally, this research builds and extends on research in cultural fusion and contributes to our understanding of the culturally fused experience of Italian American Identity. viii I am Italian American… I am, in other words, confused. I am asking directions of people who have never traveled this road. I am trying to follow the signs. I am lost. I am certain someone can tell me what I am. George Guida1 Chapter I: Introduction For decades, the inquiry of cultural assimilation has inspired research interests across the social sciences. Traditionally, the field of cultural studies has been predicated on the assumption that assimilation was a natural phenomenon and a desirable goal for immigrants; therefore, theories were designed in a way to generate data that teach individuals how to be "right," rational, and functionally fit for their new way of life. The recent focus on multiculturalism has constituted a period of transition from adaptive conformity to diversity, for already assimilated ethnic groups and cultural theorists challenge the ways Western society uses the term assimilation to know a particular culture. Many of them question who determines when, how, or if it is even possible for one to assimilate (Tamburri, 1998). Is it the individual who makes these decisions or is it the dominant culture that decides? (Tamburri, 1998). Others contend that integration ideologies are linked to intolerance and discrimination (Murphy & Eposito, 2003), alienation (Kramer, 2003), double consciousness (Du Bois, 1986), cultural schizophrenia (Carnevale, 2003), and self-hatred (Barolini, 1999). These issues present numerous cultural concerns, one of which is identity. The notion of identity along with discourse regarding competing assimilation ideologies raises questions about the attempt to associate or distance oneself from immigrant origins and ethnicity in order to integrate 1 Geroge Guida, Asking Directions, (Low Italian, 2007, p. 44). 1 into another culture. It also raises questions regarding the various consequences of this de-ethnicizing process (Barolini, 1985; Tamburri, 1998). American preoccupation with ethnicity is, in part, because America is a large colony, a hyper-colony (a manifestation of globalization) that seeks equilibrium within its political boundaries (Kramer, 2000). The drive for equilibrium produces theories, practices, and technologies that reduce differences. According to assimilation theory, society can only "improve if languages disappear and diversity smoothes out" (Kramer, 2000, p. 202). The implications of the assimilation or adaptation model have a direct effect on ethnicity. Thus, the concept of ethnic identity within the United States is rooted in equalizing ideologies such as scientific racism, social Darwinism, war, and color consciousness instead of descent, inheritance, and biological fusion (Gabaccia, 2003). European and non-European immigrants that migrated to the United States during the turn of the 20th century quickly discovered that the desired path to assimilation and acceptance varied according to the newcomer's ethnicity (Gabaccia, 2003). The ease of acceptance was not equal for all. Some visible characteristics made it difficult to blend into the mainstream culture while others made it easy. Those that were fortunate enough to look "right" and behave "appropriately" had more access to jobs, federally subsidized loans, citizenship, property, civil rights, and political resources (Lipsitz, 1990). Consequently, countless immigrants tried to erase all the detectable signs of their ethnicity that were deemed unacceptable by the white Anglo culture—a process that is neither natural nor inevitable (Gardaphé, 1996; Sandel, Wong-Lowe, Meng, & Chang, 2006). The immigrant's means of adapting to their new way of life was a product of 2 learning, performing, and perpetuating an assimilated identity, in other words, an invisible self. Relevance

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