Italians in Chicago Project. Interviews, 1979-1981

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Collection Overview

Title: Italians in Chicago Project. Interviews, 1979-1981

Primary Creator: Italians In Chicago Project

Extent: 2.8 cubic feet. More info below.

Subjects: Cook County--Chicago (Ill.), Italian Americans, University of Illinois at Chicago

Forms of Material: Organizational records

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection consists of transcribed interviews from the Italians in Chicago Project.

The Italians in Chicago Project was a two-year, multi-faceted program undertaken by the Department of History at the University of Illinois, Chicago from 1979-1981 under the supervision of Professor Dominic Candeloro. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) provided the funding for the purpose of documenting the Italian-American experience in Chicago. The project included oral history interviews, a symposia series, and an exhibition at the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center.

For the oral history component of the project, 114 Italian-Americans across multiple generations were interviewed. These taped interviews were then transcribed and assembled into booklets. This collection is comprised of copies of these transcripts.

The neighborhoods in this collection are as follows: Austin, Belmont, Belmont/Cragin, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Burnside, California/Polk, Chicago Heights, Chicago/Pulaski, Chicago/Western, Chinatown, Franklin Park, Grand Avenue, Grand/Western, Highland Park, Highwood, LaGrange, Lake View, Melrose Park, Near North Side, Near West Side, River Grove/Near North, Roseland, South Lawndale, Terra Cotta, Westside, and 24th & Oakley.

Professor Dominic Candeloro, executive director of the project, donated this collection to the Illinois Historical Survey, the predecessor to the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections Unit, in 1989.

Subject/Index Terms

Cook County--Chicago (Ill.)
Italian Americans
University of Illinois at Chicago

Administrative Information

Repository: Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

Alternate Extent Statement: 118 items

Original/Copies Note: Original recordings and transcripts are held within the Italian American collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago For more information please see http://findingaids.library.uic.edu/sc/MSIACR82.xml.

Other URL: http://www.library.illinois.edu/ihx/inventories/italians-in-chicago.pdf