Sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, the University of Florence and California State University Long Beach, “Italians in the Gold Rush and Beyond” is an extensive project based on the history of Italians on the West Coast from the beginning of the Gold Rush Era (1848) up to the present. The project intends to recover this important historical heritage and to document it via an on-line database.

The George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies, CSU Long Beach

in collaboration with
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles

is pleased to present

Italians in the Gold Rush and Beyond
A Multimedia Oral History Project

Sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, the University of Florence and California State University Long Beach, “Italians in the Gold Rush and Beyond” is an extensive project based on the history of Italians on the West Coast from the beginning of the Gold Rush Era (1848) up to the present. The project intends to recover this important historical heritage and to document it via an on-line database. This presentation will illustrate both the larger scope of the project and the specifics of the field research completed by the scientific team of the University of Florence last September in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. The conference will include a multimedia presentation and the screening of a short documentary on this research.

About the project director

Alessandro Trojani received his BA in 1973 in Computer Science at the University of Pisa. After working as analyst and designer for Geo Information Systems, he specialized on informatics applied to cultural communication via new www-networks technologies. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florence, where he teaches “19th-century North America History” in the Dept. of Political Science, “Visual Networks in Digital Environments” in the Dept. of Education, and “Basic Informatics Applied to GIS” in the Dept. of Architecture. Trojani created the project “Italians in the Gold Rush and Beyond”, and has been conducting his research on Italians on the West Coast since 1999. In Italy, he collaborates with the Ministry of Italians in the World for the development of a National Emigration Museum, as well as with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the enhancement of historical research in the field. He is also involved in West-Coast-based anthropological research supported by the National Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in Florence.

Saturday, February 21

Karl W. Anatol Center, Library East 110 (CSU Long Beach campus)
http://daf.csulb.edu/maps/directions/index.html

For information, contact Teresa Fiore at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Mihaela Martinescu at (562) 985-9321

Program

2:00/2:15 Opening Remarks

          Prof. Carlo Chiarenza – Graziadio Chair of Italian Studies, CSULB
          Dr. Diego Brasioli – General Consul of Los Angeles
          Dr.ssa Clara Celati - Deputy Director, Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Los Angeles
          Frank De Santis - President, Orange County American Italian Renaissance Foundation.

2:20 - Prof. Teresa Fiore – Introduction to the Project
2:25 - Prof. Alessandro Trojani – Illustration of the Project Results

3:25 - Coffee break

Guest speakers:

3.35 - Dr. Sherna Gluck - Dept. of History, CSULB
3.50 - Dr. Luisa Del Giudice - Italian Oral History Institute (CA)
4.05 - Prof. Maria Gloria Lothrop - CSU, Northridge

4:20 - Prof. Alessandro Trojani – Screening of some interviews
4:40 - Video Screening
4:50 - Q&A Session
5:00 - Prof. Carlo Chiarenza – Conclusive Remarks