Bücher der Reihe Robert Viscusi Essay

An exploration of the Italian references and inspirations found across the writings of Thomas Jefferson.“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”—Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence“[T]u vedrai noi d’una massa di carne tutti la carne avere e da uno medesimo creatore tutte l’anime con iguali forze, con iguali potenze, con iguali vertù create. La vertù primieramente noi, che tutti nascemmo e nasciamo iguali, ne distinse...”“[Y]ou will see that we all have flesh from the same mass of flesh and from the same creator all have souls created with equal forces, with equal powers, and with equal capabilities. Capability is the first thing that distinguished us, who all have been born and are born equal...”—Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron

In this unique volume of essays, three Italian-Canadian-American scholars of the post-WWII diaspora, who among them span a wide expanse of geographic and cultural ground, reflect on the meaning of triangulated identities. What are the processes of translation required by personal lives, consciousness, scholarship, and modes of representation, lived in such a context? At their simplest, they must confront blended or hybridized environments, geographic, cultural, and temporal straddling, "chronic otherness," and the apparently contradictory forms of invisibility and hyper-visibility, peripherality and multi-centredness. As a basic navigational tool, cartographic "triangulation" allows these authors to explore their own personal geo-cultural positionings and to seek equipoise in an equilateral triangle. All three bring direct experience and heightened knowledge of the trans-diasporic perspective, which has left them well-prepared for the challenges of an increasingly globalized reality. Even so, such positioning does not deny an elusive sense of home and belonging; their journeys have also taught them how to feel at home in the world.

There exists still ... the notion that [Italian Americans] continue to be one of the very few ethnic groups as targets of microaggressions if not outright discrimination with no consequences to those who engage in such acts.... It is both an internal and external challenge; and in both cases I am convinced that education is the best way we can (1) better inform ourselves of our own history in the United States, and (2) enlighten the non-Italian American about our history and the many challenges immigrants faced. That said, Italian Americans must step up to the plate and support grand projects such as a worthy Italian/American museum at the national level, endowed professorships, and centers, as well as other entities and/or institutions dedicated to imparting knowledge of our history and culture, and, in the end, a veritable Italian/American "think tank." This ultimately brings us to the dire need for private, cultural philanthropy.-from the "Introduction"

"As one travels through this concise, engaging cultural autobiography, as I would call it, of Marra's many experiences, one realizes that he was much more than an observer. If by "observe," we mean to notice and thus perceive something, understand it as being significant, and then act on it, we see that Marra was indeed a keen onlooker. At times, a fly on the wall, other times, an active participant. His work for NIAF and OSIA, especially, are testimony to these two roles he has and continues to play over the thirty-plus years among Italians and Italian Americans."-from the Foreword by Anthony Julian Tamburri