Request for help with Dissertation

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
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MLucherini
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Request for help with Dissertation

Post by MLucherini »

Hello, I am a geography student from Scotland. I am attempting to gather information for use in my dissertation, which is about the experiences, culture and identity of the Scots-Italians as well as that of Italians in Scotland. I would be very grateful for any time you could spare to help with this.

I would appreciate any answers or opinions you could give to any of the following questions. Please feel free to answer as many or as few as you wish and your answers can be as long or as short as you wish. Any other opinions, stories or suggestions about the Scots-Italians would also be greatly appreciated. You do not have to be Scots-Italian to contribute; any experiences of the Italian Diaspora, that you would like to share, would be greatly appreciated. Every piece of information will help a great deal in my dissertation. Please also pass these questions on to friends or family that may want to contribute.

If you are based in Glasgow I am also conducting face to face interviews, so if you would be interested in talking with me just let me know.

Please indicate on any response whether you will allow me to quote or paraphrase your response in my dissertation. If people are unsure about this I can quote anonymously or with a pseudonym of your choosing.

Thank you for your help.

Mark

Name?

Age?

Whereabouts in Italy is your family from?

How long have you or your family moved from Italy?

Have you had many experiences being confronted with stereotypes such as ‘chippies’ or ‘pointy hats’ or other assumptions and stereotypes about Scots-Italian lifestyle?

How do feel about these stereotypes? Are they damaging? Do they reinforce a specific ‘other’ identity? Are they taken as harmless humour?

Who promulgates these rumours?

How do you think these stereotypes affect Scots-Italians who do not work in these professions? Is there a stigma of ‘chippies’ attached to new generations of Scots-Italians?

Do you feel as if there is a specific Scots-Italian identity? What characterises this identity?

How integrated would you say the Scots-Italian community is in Glasgow?

Is language important in maintaining an Italian identity?
Is there a sense of a ‘true’ Scots-Italian? What makes a ‘true’ Scots-Italian? Must a true Scots-Italian be able to speak both English and Italian?

Do you feel that there is a distinct Scots-Italian community in Glasgow? Is this community based on familial relations or of people coming form the same area of Italy? Is there a feeling of comradeship or friendship based on a common identity? Do Scots-Italians regularly meet, hold events etc…? Is it possible to be a Scots-Italian without being part of this community?

Is the Scots-Italian community a network of social contacts, meetings or events and not necessarily a physical area or neighbourhood? Do you feel is if there is a system of nodes and networks for Scots-Italians, or would you say that there is a more distinct presence of Scots-Italians?

For instance does this community have spatial manifestations such as a residential area, or a business area or a social area? For instance is there any kind of informal understanding amongst Scots-Italians of the ‘best’ places to live or the ‘best’ places to start a business?

Many Scots-Italians have origins in small village in Italy. Do you feel that there has been a culture clash between older generations from Italy and the younger generations who have grown up in Scotland?

Do Italian restaurants, cafes offer an escape from Glasgow to an authentic Italy? Do they feel like attempts to claim some foreign land as Italian? Or are they a unique amalgamation Italian and Scottish culture open to both Italians and Scots alike?

Were you or was anyone you know interned by the British government under the fear that Scots-Italians could be spies or saboteurs during WWII?

Do feel that this situation has left over any feelings of animosity among or against the Scots-Italians?

Do you know if there was a sense of Italian-Scots children during the war trying to hide their Italianness? Trying to become ‘invisible’ or escape traditional occupations?

Do you think that some Scots-Italians still try to hide their Italianness today?
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MLucherini
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by MLucherini »

Hi, if anyone is still interested I made an online survey that is quicker and easier to complete. Just click on the link beloew rto have a look.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=y ... 54XQ_3d_3d

Thank you.
PeterTimber
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by PeterTimber »

Dear Mr Lucherini Your background is obviously from Tuscany (www.gens.labo.net/en/cognomi) or thereabouts. Your inquiry about Italians in Scotland should not be too different from American responses since Italians were the first Latin (mediterranean) people to immigrate into Celtic/barbarian rooted cultures with initially hostile reactions.

At its heart the Celtic/barbarian cultures react to anything being foreign as inferior as an automatic reflex. I leave the explanation to professionals. =peter=
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misbris
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by misbris »

Hi,

I am so glad you decided to do an online survey. I am sure you will get many more responses that way. There are a number of members from Scotland on this site. You might want to send them a PM with the link for this survey. Good luck with your research. :D

Peter, I think if you look at history, it is not just Celtic cultures who react negatively to foreign influences. :wink:
PeterTimber
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by PeterTimber »

I agree but we are talking about Italians meeting the celtics and barbarian cultures head on intheir own juices. =Peter=
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MLucherini
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by MLucherini »

Hey

Thanks for the support, it is much appreciated.

:D
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Emmy
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by Emmy »

Have sent you a pm
Emmy
PeterTimber
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by PeterTimber »

Dear Mr.Lucherini is your dissertation for the equivalent of a Masters degree or that of a Ph.D? Are you considering publication upon its completion? I am interested because I am curious as to whether there are any significant differences between your findings and those encountered here in the USA by not onlty myself but others as well. Thank you for the opportunity you have given us to share our views with you and the perspectives we all hope to gain. =Peter=
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Emmy
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by Emmy »

Mark I have sent you a pm
Emmy
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MLucherini
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by MLucherini »

Hi Peter. My dissertation is for my masters degree. It won't be published on completion but I would be happy to share my findings, with anyone who is interested when I'm finished (sometime early next year).

It would be interesting to compare my findings with those of the USA. In the meantime, www.scotsitalian.com is a good website to find out some info on the Italians in Scotland.

Thanks
Mark
PeterTimber
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Re: Request for help with Dissertation

Post by PeterTimber »

Dear mark Thank you very much for responding quickly. I am looking forward to reading the website you so kindly thought to send. All I know about Scot-Italians is that they dominated the Ice Cream business and thats about it.

May I suggest that when you complete your dissertation send a copy to the Order Sons Of Italy In America , 219 E. Street NE, washington, DC 20002 for their library and appropriate use.

Oddly enough when I was doing my own dissertation, I became very involved in medical history and particularly the pivotal contributions of the Edinburgh medical establishment to modern medicine. Needless to say I was very impressed. Lots of luck. =Peter=
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