Italian Women and Girls: Interview with Bessie Musco by Carmela Santoro

Italian Women and Girls: Interview with Bessie Musco by Carmela Santoro

Social and Cultural Anthropology; Immigrants -- Rhode Island -- Providence; Emigrants -- Italy; Immigrants -- United States -- History -- 20th Century; Oral history -- Immigrants -- Rhode Island; Italian American women; Cultural assimilation

This is a transcript made from a recorded interview. The original audio recording has since been lost or erased. The interview has been catalogued as 14 of 24 from box 7 in the Ethnic Heritage Studies collection. The original audio recording, made for the series, 'Italian Women and Girls,' was located on audio cassette 11.

Musco, Bessie

Italian Women and Girls was created by Dr. Carmela E. Sontoro, a professor of history at Rhode Island College and a descendant of Italian immigrants. She believed that Italian women had been stereotyped as "illiterate, unthinking and living to be the possesion of her husband,." To find the truth, she interviewed her moth, friends and neighbors and extended her search to women across the state. From her interviews with 70 Italian immigrant women, Dr. Santoro found them to be "much more complex and diversified persons" who play an important role in their families.

Digital Initiatives Press: Rhode Island College

1975-10-14

English

audio

IW14T