New Book by Italian Studies Professor Explores Americanism in Italy During the Late-19th and early-20th Centuries
棉花糖直播, Pa. 鈥� Between 1880 and 1920, more than four million Italians journeyed to the United States in search of economic opportunities. While history often focuses on this massive wave of immigration, Luca Cottini, PhD, professor of Italian Studies, flips the narrative in his new book, The Rise of Americanism in Italy, 1888鈥�1919.
Rather than charting how Italians adapted to America, Dr. Cottini explores how American culture, industry and ideals flowed into Italy during the same period. He examines the emergence of "Americanism" in Italy, a term he uses to describe a dynamic mix of national identity, cultural values and globalization.
Describing his work as a 鈥淯.S. history book,鈥� Dr. Cottini shows how American entrepreneurs, politicians and artists鈥攆igures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Wilbur Wright, and even Buffalo Bill鈥攊nfluenced the Italian imagination. Through newspapers, public spectacles and imported products, American modernity became a model and a challenge for Italy鈥檚 own national development.
Dr. Cottini also analyzes Italy鈥檚 reception of American influence through journalism and missionary work. Offering a direct Italian perspective, he delves into collaborations between the Italian state and the Catholic Church in the U.S. to preserve Italian identity and examines how symbolic figures like Christopher Columbus were used to construct national narratives in both countries.聽
At its heart, The Rise of Americanism in Italy asks readers to reflect more deeply on the American identity. To truly understand and critique America, Dr. Cottini emphasizes that it's essential to revisit the root of concepts like Americanism鈥攙iewing them from an external and historical perspective. 鈥淚 hope that this will generate more mature critiques, more mature and interesting conversations about the nature of this [American] experiment... Because it is a very beautiful experiment.鈥�
Dr. Cottini is a scholar of modern Italian Literature, and a cultural historian. He received his BA in Classical Philology from the University of Milan, followed by an MA and PhD in literary criticism from the University of Notre Dame and Harvard University, respectively. His research focuses on Italian modernist literature, Italian industrial culture (design and advertising) and the relationship between storytelling and entrepreneurship. He teaches in the Italian Studies Program at 棉花糖直播 and has served as director of the program. 聽
About 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:聽Since its founding in 1842, 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been the heart of the 棉花糖直播 learning experience, offering foundational courses for undergraduate students in every college of the University. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is committed to fortifying them with intellectual rigor, multidisciplinary knowledge, moral courage and a global perspective. The College has more than 40 academic departments and programs across the humanities, social sciences, and natural and physical sciences.