Italian American Sociology

Although we all are living on the same planet we have a huge diversity among us. One of these notable differences between the people on earth is their different cultures. One can notice these differences when traveling or relocating to a new country with another culture he or she are familiar with. For example, the American culture and the Italian culture both have more differences than one would expect. When people try to visit Italy they should be aware of the cultural differences, and the right way to communicate with the Italians.

Daniels, Roger. Not like Us: Immigrants and Minorities in America, 1890-1924. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1997.

Joseph Healey’s “From Immigrants to White Ethnics” is a generalized comparison between the varying groups of individuals that accompanied the colossal waves of immigration to the United States from Europe in the nineteenth century. Immigration to this country resulted from a number of reason such as religious persecution, individuals seeking to find employment after industrialization in their home countries limited their livelihood, and political oppositions to name a few. On arrival the immigrants knew immediately they were of the subordinate group and faced “discrimination and prejudice” (Healey, 2012, p. 54), although some more so than others. Among the first immigrants to arrive in the United States were Northern and Western European citizens. Unlike the immigrants from Ireland and Southern and Eastern Europe that chose the United States for their new homeland these individuals were probably the most accepted by the majority, even if considered just nominally superior to the others. Included in this group were the “English, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Welsh, French, Dutch and Danes” (Healey, 2012, p. 56). This acceptance was due in part to the similarities that the dominate group held as ideals such as their religion, along with cultural values and characteristics. If the Northern and Western Europeans found acceptance difficult, individuals from Ireland and the Europeans from the south and east had an even more traumatic experience. Whereas the more accepted group had

The details on how my family arrived in America have been passed down by various members of my family. The accuracy and detail of these memories have diminished with every retelling. Some of my family arrived in America so long ago that all that remains of their experiences are rumors and stretched truths. As a story gets retold over and over it loses much of its accuracy. While much of my family history relies on this kind of storytelling, there are some in my family who were alive and experienced the challenges faced by immigrants. Though born in the United States, my maternal grandfather, Sebastian Passantino, was very familiar with the hardships of being an immigrant.

American culture encompasses customs or traditions in the United States. Customs or traditions include, but would not be limited to, values, language, religion, or how we communicate. The population in the United States is over 325 million, (United States Census Bureau, (n.d.) and is built on immigration. In comparison to other countries, the United States is considered cultural, as most nations unite, and later mix, their culture into American culture.

“But on other levels, James’s gaze at “new immigrants” a racially inflected term that categorized the numerous newcomers from southern and eastern Europe as different both from the whiter and longer established northern and western Europe migrants to the United States and from the nonwhite Chinese and other “Asiatics” opened for him new possibilities and alien drama”, stated by Roediger (2005, 5 & 6). With white’s being on top of everything and the new immigrants are not being accepted very easy as to pass under the government’s regulations, it makes them confused of what they are really supposed to be and what identity they belong

In 1990, 41 percent of Puerto Rican children were living in poverty, compared to 32 percent of Mexican-American children, 22 percent of Central/South

There was also a difference between the median income of a male and the one of a female.While males had a median income of $39,581, the females had a median income of $28,488.

The poverty status in the last 12 months for all families, White alone is 8.3%, Black alone is 30.4%, American Indian and Alaska Native alone is 37.8%, Asian alone is 16.5%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone is 30.8%, some other race alone is 35.9%, and two or more races alone is 32.0% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). (ADD NEW STUFF FROM CQ ALMANAC FOR VOTING AND CONSTIUENTS)

Hispanics hold about 2.2 percent of its wealth. According to The Washington Post,” part of that due is to the fact that Mexicans and Puerto Ricans make up nearly 75 percent of the Country Hispanic population, but earn significantly less, on average than the typical American household”. In other words, Mexican Americans continue to stay low income than other cultures. The median household income for Mexicans is at 38,000. However, Mexicans who are born in the U.S. have a higher percentage of receiving a higher income and continuing their education

Every 1 in 5 Hispanic American lives below the poverty line and the average income for most households in $10,000 below those in non-ethnic households. Many lack wealth or a type of savings because of the downturn of the economy. Hispanic Americans relied on the fact they owned their homes for income when it came time to care for the elderly,

Racial grouping and categories can be effective and not effective. In the article “Racial Formation in the United States” by Michael Omi and Howard Winant they discuss their views of racial groups in the U.S and their effectiveness on people. In the article “How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says about Race in America” by Karen Brodkin she discusses how in the past time Jews were considered something other than white, but now they are considered as very much white. Brodkin’s article supports Omi and Winant by addressing the same issues in a more detailed and specific way, they both talk about these racial categories and how it affects

A Nation of Immigrants, John F. Kennedy’s last book’s title, describes our first point well. Kennedy knew the importance that immigrants played in our nation’s history. He speaks of the different “waves” of immigration and their respective contributions to society. Immigrants, in Kennedy’s eyes, are not the menacing and threatening population that some proclaim them to be, but rather are a population who come here in search of freedom and economic opportunity that may not be afforded to them in their countries of origin. The Irish, Germans, Scandinavians, and other European groups that came in great waves during the later 19th and early 20th centuries each influenced the areas they moved to.

Have you ever wondered how the Italian educational system compares to that of America? Well a lot of Italians would tell you in fact, they despise it. The schooling is not the most reliable, especially when it comes to how people are hired and the rampant instability of education jobs in the country. Another fact is that Italy still offers some of the most complete didactic curricula in Europe.

This report also voices that Blacks and Hispanics exceed the nation average. A single mother household is where poverty remains the highest.