By now you may have already seen that in the Saturday, July 9, edition of the New York Times, Helene Stapinski—best-selling author and freelance journalist—published an article about Dr. Joseph Sciorra, Director of Academic and Cultural Programs, and his quest to procure a headstone for longshoreman Pietro “Pete”
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On October 23rd, 2022, at the 86th Annual Italian Charities of America Dinner Dance these Italian American honorees were celebrated for their outstanding work and achievements.
Joseph Petrosino, Esq. received the Christopher Columbus Award.
Silvana Mangione received the talian American Ambassador Award.
Giovanni Pinto received the Italian American Community Service Award.
Dr. Donna M. Chirico received the Italian American Leadership Award.
Dr. Antonio Carlo Vitti received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Louisa Calio received the Renaissance Award.
On Saturday November 5, 2022, the Institute convened a panel of scholars to discuss the half-century-old legacy of the Mario Puzo novel and the series of films by Francis Ford Coppola. Some topics covered in the presentations included "The Don's Tuxedo: Fashion and Costume in The Godfather," by Rebecca Bauman, "No Girls Allowed: Homosociality and the Man Caves of Identity," by Dr. Donna Chirico, and "From Scratch: Foodways as a Politic of Representation," by Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, among other paper topics. Dean Anthony Julian Tamburri served as host and moderator. Stay tuned to this space for upcoming videos of the presentations.
Friday afternoon, September 16, 2022, a group of eminent members of the Italian American community came together at the Calandra Institute for the purpose of discussing the state of Italian American studies and the University as well as to underscore the importance of Italian American participation in humanistic philanthropy—namely, supporting the humanities, social sciences, and the arts.
Invited were those in positions of influence among Italian Americans; those who have engaged in philanthropy either personally or through their organizations; and those engaged in research and the promotion of Italian American and Italian diaspora studies. As a result, in attendance were state legislators, heads of some of the most prominent area organizations, professors, and academic administrators, among others.
Speakers included Dr. Anne M. Prisco, President of Holy Family University; Dr. Katia Passerini, Provost, Seton Hall University; Dr. Donna Chirico, former Dean of Arts and Sciences, York College, CUNY. Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele made opening comments and the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Fabio Finotti, offered closing reflections.
The principal topics on the agenda were: the critical importance of Italian American/Italian Diaspora courses as part of the college curriculum; and what academics in positions of influence can do to encourage these studies, especially in collaboration with people from the Italian American population at large. The discussion was focused, frank, and collegial. The meeting was followed by a reception.
Photograph copyright Terry W. Sanders 2022La Voce di New York (in partnership with the Calandra Institute, the Co.Mi.Tes from the tristate area, and Gruppo Esponenti Italiani) convened on Friday, September 9, a debate among candidates campaigning for the votes of Italians abroad. Click here to read the article in La Voce di New York in Italian. (Click here for an English translation of the article, and click here to watch the video of the proceedings.)
In the spring of 2022, as the world began to be recalled to life (in Dickens’s phrase), the Calandra Institute decided, after two years, to hold its annual international conference in person again (the 2021 edition was held entirely online; click here for more information about those sessions). The 2022 conference, Eco Italie: Material Landscapes and Environmental Imaginaries, took place at the Institute on April 28–30. As usual, participants came from all over, this time to address ecological, philosophical, and literary matters relating to Italy and the Italian Diaspora. Conference sessions covered topics ranging from gardening in Italy to earthquakes and their aftereffects, waste management, irrigation as a Fascist political tool, and roots of the ecological movement on the peninsula. The conference keynote talk was delivered by Enrico Cesaretti and was titled "Green Traces: Vegetal Imagination in Italian Science Fiction from Gilda Musa to Solarpunk."
This conference, coming as it did at the end of the most disruptive two years of the pandemic, brought together an unusually focused and determined cohort of young scholars who presented creative and thought-provoking research.
Watch videos of the conference sessions on the Calandra Institute’s YouTube page by clicking here; and you can read the conference program here.
On October 23rd, 2022, at the 86th Annual Italian Charities of America Dinner Dance these Italian American honorees were celebrated for their outstanding work and achievements.
Joseph Petrosino, Esq. received the Christopher Columbus Award.
Silvana Mangione received the talian American Ambassador Award.
Giovanni Pinto received the Italian American Community Service Award.
Dr. Donna M. Chirico received the Italian American Leadership Award.
Dr. Antonio Carlo Vitti received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Louisa Calio received the Renaissance Award.Read More
On Saturday November 5, 2022, the Institute convened a panel of scholars to discuss the half-century-old legacy of the Mario Puzo novel and the series of films by Francis Ford Coppola. Some topics covered in the presentations included "The Don's Tuxedo: Fashion and Costume in The Godfather," by Rebecca Bauman, "No Girls Allowed: Homosociality and the Man Caves of Identity," by Dr. Donna Chirico, and "From Scratch: Foodways as a Politic of Representation," by Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, among other paper topics. Dean Anthony Julian Tamburri served as host and moderator. Stay tuned to this space for upcoming videos of the presentations.Read More
Friday afternoon, September 16, 2022, a group of eminent members of the Italian American community came together at the Calandra Institute for the purpose of discussing the state of Italian American studies and the University as well as to underscore the importance of Italian American participation in humanistic philanthropy—namely, supporting the humanities, social sciences, and the arts.
Invited were those in positions of influence among Italian Americans; those who have engaged in philanthropy either personally or through their organizations; and those engaged in research and the promotion of Italian American and Italian diaspora studies. As a result, in attendance were state legislators, heads of some of the most prominent area organizations, professors, and academic administrators, among others.
Speakers included Dr. Anne M. Prisco, President of Holy Family University; Dr. Katia Passerini, Provost, Seton Hall University; Dr. Donna Chirico, former Dean of Arts and Sciences, York College, CUNY. Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele made opening comments and the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Fabio Finotti, offered closing reflections.
The principal topics on the agenda were: the critical importance of Italian American/Italian Diaspora courses as part of the college curriculum; and what academics in positions of influence can do to encourage these studies, especially in collaboration with people from the Italian American population at large. The discussion was focused, frank, and collegial. The meeting was followed by a reception.Read More
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
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