Skip navigation
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01g158bm093
Title: Ethnicity, Emotions, and Relations in an Italian-American Suburb
Authors: Pangborn, Nicole Anne
Advisors: Duneier, Mitchell D
Contributors: Sociology Department
Keywords: ethnic relations
ethnography
gender
social interaction
Subjects: Sociology
Issue Date: 2019
Publisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University
Abstract: This dissertation examines the persistence of Italian-American ethnicity in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island. Through a year and a half of ethnographic fieldwork among 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation Italian-Americans, I document some of the local complexities which have led to the continued relevance of ethnic heritage in everyday life. I show how, over the course of social interaction, the legacies of Italian-American ethnicity in this particular place work to shape individuals' feelings of self-worth, to structure their relations with others, to limit occupational and residential mobility, and to inform interpretations of current events. These findings a.) run contrary to the expectations of scholars who view ethnicity for late-generation European groups as no more than "symbolic" (Gans, 1979), b.) contribute to a better understanding of the current historical moment in the United States, and c.) complicate sociological perspectives on assimilation and ethnic group relations more generally.
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01g158bm093
Alternate format: The Mudd Manuscript Library retains one bound copy of each dissertation. Search for these copies in the library's main catalog: catalog.princeton.edu
Type of Material: Academic dissertations (Ph.D.)
Language: en
Appears in Collections:Sociology

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
Pangborn_princeton_0181D_12859.pdf2.5 MBAdobe PDFView/Download


Items in Dataspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.