Italian-American Studies

Italian-American Studies was founded at Queens College in 1973 out of a conviction that the ethnic experience in America is a key to a full understanding of American culture and history.

The purpose of Italian-American Studies is to offer courses on all dimensions of Italian participation in American life, both historical and contemporary. The approach is interdisciplinary, and draws upon the fields of history, political science, psychology, literature, sociology, art, and music. Within the curriculum, stress is placed not only on developing an understanding of Italian-Americans and their culture, but also on the relations of Italian-Americans to other groups—and, in fact, to all elements and facets of American society.

In addition to the courses designated specifically as offerings of Italian-American Studies, students are encouraged to take certain departmental courses related to Italian and Italian-American culture. Students are urged to consult lists of Italian-American offerings, which are distributed on campus each semester, or call Italian-American Studies.