The Italian American periodicals listed in this section are dedicated to a broad range of cultural and ethnic topics relating to the various Italian American communities existing across the United States. Broadly defined, the idea of Italian American culture included in this category of periodicals encompasses many different aspects, covering among other topics: Italian American identity issues; adaptation to American culture; Italian heritage preservation; Italian language promotion; the influences of Italian literature and art on American culture. These periodicals include several newspapers, such as the Italian Tribune (1931), that emphasize the cultural and social interests of the Italian Americans. As for the periodicals grouped under the "Political Periodicals" category in this guide, these "Cultural Periodicals" show a certain ambivalence between cultural and political interests, so that a newspaper such as L'Indipendente founded in New Haven, Connecticut, which initially declared itself as " the only Italian newspaper entirely devoted to the welfare of the working classes," manifestly supported instead mainstream American pro-capitalist ideas and a greater propensity for recreational and general topics.
Other important periodicals that can be ascribed to this category are Italica (1926), a quarterly bulletin for teachers of Italian, and Italian Americana (1974), a semi-annual academic journal published by several different universities. The latter periodicals have an academic focus relating to the teaching of Italian language and literature in American schools and colleges. This section of our guide contains several academic journals that contribute to relevant scholarly research and to the goal of spreading a serious appreciation for Italian culture in America. The guide also includes some later publications such as Ambassador, a quarterly magazine published by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), which continue to be important to the Italian American cultural experience today through their preservation of Italian American heritage.
Select the title of any periodical listed below to view fuller bibliographic information for that item in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to electronic versions are provided when available. Full-text articles from academic journals available through the subscription databases included in the Library of Congress E-Resources Online Catalog are only accessible onsite. Also, see the "Databases & External Websites" section of this guide.