Special Issue of Italian American Review, Andrew Hoyt, Guest Editor
Abstracts Due: July 1, 2025
Italian American “cause célèbre” and “anarchist martyrs” Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed by the State of Massachusetts on August 23, 1927. Almost a full 100 years later, their names remain important touchstones around the world for migration activists and working-class radicals. The memory of Sacco and Vanzetti has been preserved and recreated through cultural and political manifestations over the ensuing years. While rooted in the diasporic Italian-anarchist communities of which they were a part, these manifestations across the globe—in music and art, in plays and novels, in strikes and street protests—long ago transcended those origins and remain significant to this day.
The Italian American Review seeks essays for a special issue dedicated to a re-thinking and re-articulation of the meaning of Sacco and Vanzetti both historically and today. In addition to submissions related to a revisiting of the details of their trial (and related murders) and the anarchist background from which they emerged, we especially invite submissions that focus on lesser explored themes in the historiography, including the global reach of their defense campaign, the impact of the failed fight to save their lives, how this struggle was used by various groups who rallied to their cause in the 1920s, and what they mean to those who have continued to commemorate their deaths with various actions and gatherings ever since.
Some questions posed might include but not be limited to:
- What does the transnational campaign to save Sacco and Vanzetti show us about 1920s global political culture?
- What did Sacco and Vanzetti signify for Italians and non-Italians in the United States and for foreign populations?
- What roles did their Italianness and their anarchism play in transforming their cause into a global struggle?
- How was the Sacco and Vanzetti defense campaign used in the 1920s by various social movements outside the United States, and how has the memory of the two men been used since then?
- Why do Sacco and Vanzetti seem to remain relevant today in places they never lived in or visited?
- What role have various forms of media played in creating their celebrity?
- What significance do Sacco and Vanzetti as victims of anti-immigrant sentiments and as holders of unpopular/radical political beliefs have for us facing renewed anti-immigration laws and political persecution today?
The Italian American Review seeks abstracts of up to 500 words with an additional bibliography of no more than one page and a bio-note of no more than 200 words. The deadline for abstracts is July 1, 2025. Please submit your abstract to both David Aliano, editor of the Italian American Review, at [email protected], and the guest editor, Andrew Hoyt, at [email protected]. The guest editor will then contact those authors whose abstracts are deemed relevant to the topic at hand.
All article submissions go through a double-blind peer-review process. Authors are expected to follow the guidelines of the Italian American Review, which include both bibliographical formatting as well as a select number of stylistic requirements. Any accepted article that does not adhere to the journal’s guidelines risks not being included in the issue. Submissions should not exceed twenty-five double-spaced pages (notes and bibliography included).