Queens College begins the 2025-26 academic year on Tuesday, August 26. With it, we are launching a new suite of programs at the Calandra Institute!
Our calendar of events has been updated with the talks, readings, and presentations scheduled for the fall semester—including film screenings, historical analysis, and theatrical performances.
New book by the Dean of the Institute!This study examines the changing dynamics of the “Italian” writer and how we, as cultural critics, need to re-think our definitions of the new Italian writer. In so doing, we must also re-consider the notion of the geo-cultural zones that we characterize as “Italian.” Namely, how do we categorize that writer who, having left Italy and now living beyond its geo-cartographic boundaries, writes in Italian? Similarly, who is that other writer who, originating from another country that is both culturally and linguistically different from Italy, writes in Italian? Finally, where within these two groups do we position the writer of Italian origin who also lives in another country and, different from the previous two types of writers, composes his/her work in the language of his/her host country?
New book release in Italian by the Dean of the Institute!Anthony Julian Tamburri is a leading figure in the field of Italian/American studies. Examining literary and cinematographic works from the perspective of cultural issues related to the concepts of memory, ethnicity, migration, and diaspora, Tamburri has argued for the need to broaden the concept of “Italian identity,” which in recent decades has extended far beyond traditional boundaries. Tamburri has thus initiated a dialogue that aims to launch an interactive process of shared practices and knowledge, which can benefit both “Italian” communities, including in their relations with other American ethnic communities, and the wider contexts in which we operate, including the Mediterranean and countries where the Italian diaspora is present: a textual and cultural journey that ‘will certainly not be easy, as it will confront us with a series of linguistic, cultural and [...] ideological deviations’ and will force us to take a close look at stories that have long been removed from our collective imagination.
Non-collaborating POWs built this presepio—an Italian nativity scene—near Schofield Barracks, Hawai’i, January 5, 1945. The Islamic architecture suggests a North African setting. Courtesy National Archives.The Calandra Institute's current exhibition Creativity and World War II Italian POWs in the United States, curated by Laura E. Ruberto and Joseph Sciorra, can now be explored via a digital 3D model. View it here. To learn more about the exhibition click here, view the catalog, or read a brief description:The exhibition presents creative work made by Italian soldiers who were imprisoned by the Allied forces during World War II, focusing on those held in the United States. These objects, often made from salvaged materials, ranged in size from a small inlaid ring to a large Catholic chapel with a 65-foot bell tower. There is no archive or collective depository about World War II Italian prisoners of war in Allied hands. To document this creative work, the exhibit pulls from research completed by co-curator Laura E. Ruberto (Berkeley City College), including historical photographs, rare remaining artifacts, oral testimonies, written accounts, family memories, and private collections.The exhibition, designed by Polly Franchini, brings together a selection of these objects, images, and stories to present this little-known history. Highlighting the artistry of incarcerated Italian servicemen (some of whom maintained allegiance to Fascism) is not meant to trivialize the atrocities of war or to minimize the resistance of those who fought at great sacrifice. Rather, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the myriad ways that identity and imagination are shaped materially during the adverse conditions of war.
The public can also view the gallery in person at the Calandra Institute's Midtown Manhattan location. It will be on view from 9am to 5pm,Monday to Friday, until November 26.
Unidentified Italian Service Unit member working on an inlayed wooden box, unknown camp location. Credit: National Archives
The exhibition, curated by Laura E. Ruberto and Joseph Sciorra, presents creative work made by Italian soldiers who were imprisoned by the Allied forces during World War II, focusing on those held in the United States. These objects, often made from salvaged materials, ranged in size from a small inlaid ring to a large Catholic chapel with a 65-foot bell tower. There is no archive or collective depository about World War II Italian prisoners of war in Allied hands. To document this creative work, the exhibit pulls from research completed by co-curator Laura E. Ruberto (Berkeley City College), including historical photographs, rare remaining artifacts, oral testimonies, written accounts, family memories, and private collections.The exhibition, designed by Polly Franchini, brings together a selection of these objects, images, and stories to present this little-known history. Highlighting the artistry of incarcerated Italian servicemen (some of whom maintained allegiance to Fascism) is not meant to trivialize the atrocities of war or to minimize the resistance of those who fought at great sacrifice. Rather, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the myriad ways that identity and imagination are shaped materially during the adverse conditions of war.
Explore a 3D model of the exhibition in our gallery space and read the catalog to learn more.
In addition to the Calandra Institute, funding for this exhibit comes from the Australian Research Council and the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies.
ON VIEW May 1, 2025–November 26, 2025
Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm
EXHIBITION OPENING May 1, 2025, 6pm
This study examines the changing dynamics of the “Italian” writer and how we, as cultural critics, need to re-think our definitions of the new Italian writer. In so doing, we must also re-consider the notion of the geo-cultural zones that we characterize as “Italian.” Namely, how do we categorize that writer who, having left Italy and now living beyond its geo-cartographic boundaries, writes in Italian? Similarly, who is that other writer who, originating from another country that is both culturally and linguistically different from Italy, writes in Italian? Finally, where within these two groups do we position the writer of Italian origin who also lives in another country and, different from the previous two types of writers, composes his/her work in the language of his/her host country?
Anthony Julian Tamburri is a leading figure in the field of Italian/American studies. Examining literary and cinematographic works from the perspective of cultural issues related to the concepts of memory, ethnicity, migration, and diaspora, Tamburri has argued for the need to broaden the concept of “Italian identity,” which in recent decades has extended far beyond traditional boundaries. Tamburri has thus initiated a dialogue that aims to launch an interactive process of shared practices and knowledge, which can benefit both “Italian” communities, including in their relations with other American ethnic communities, and the wider contexts in which we operate, including the Mediterranean and countries where the Italian diaspora is present: a textual and cultural journey that ‘will certainly not be easy, as it will confront us with a series of linguistic, cultural and [...] ideological deviations’ and will force us to take a close look at stories that have long been removed from our collective imagination.
