“What’s So Funny? Italians in American Humor”
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, Room 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
27-9-2023 10:00 AM
Description
From early immigrant theater to television shows such as The Sopranos, humor has been a regular, if reticent, factor in the assimilation of Italian immigrants into U.S. American culture. Long before Americans were laughing with Italians, they were laughing at them. Like all new immigrants, Italians would be the targets of American humor: first out of the fear of their difference, then out of the familiarity with their peculiarities. Some scholars have attributed this to the idea that making fun of a minority is part of the process by which that minority is incorporated into the identity mosaic of the United States. This talk surveys the contributions of Italian Americans to U.S. American humor in theater, literature, television, and stand-up comedy and offers explanations as to why Italian Americans have not developed a public tradition of humor that rivals those of other racial and ethnic groups.
Recommended Citation
Gardaphé, Fred, "“What’s So Funny? Italians in American Humor”" (2023). Humanities Symposium. 11.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2023/2023/11
“What’s So Funny? Italians in American Humor”
Janet Ayers Academic Center, Room 4094
From early immigrant theater to television shows such as The Sopranos, humor has been a regular, if reticent, factor in the assimilation of Italian immigrants into U.S. American culture. Long before Americans were laughing with Italians, they were laughing at them. Like all new immigrants, Italians would be the targets of American humor: first out of the fear of their difference, then out of the familiarity with their peculiarities. Some scholars have attributed this to the idea that making fun of a minority is part of the process by which that minority is incorporated into the identity mosaic of the United States. This talk surveys the contributions of Italian Americans to U.S. American humor in theater, literature, television, and stand-up comedy and offers explanations as to why Italian Americans have not developed a public tradition of humor that rivals those of other racial and ethnic groups.
Comments
Featured Speaker
Convocation Credit: Cultural Well-Being