“Sicilians in Tampa”

First Annual Ybor City Museum Society Symposium

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SICILIANS IN TAMPA:

UNFOLDING THE JOURNEY

JULY 11 – 12, 2008

L’UNIONE ITALIANA

TAMPA, FL

Contact: Tomaro Taylor, Symposium Coordinator, (813) 974-5750

“Sicilians in Tampa” scholarly symposium considers Sicilian-American and Italian-American cultures and identities.

YBOR CITY, FL: A two-day symposium sponsored by the Ybor City Museum Society will explore the cultures, identities and perspectives of Sicilian and Italian Americans. Featuring scholars from a range of disciplines, the symposium will highlight such topics as immigration, acculturation and assimilation; socio-cultural influence; and community life.

The opening session, being held Friday, July 11 from 5 to 8 pm, will feature Keynote Speaker Dr. Gary Mormino. Dr. Mormino, Frank E. Duckwall Professor of Florida History and co-director of the Florida Studies program at the University of South Florida, is the author of such works as The Immigrant World of Ybor City: Italians and their Latin Neighbors, 1885-1985 and the recently published Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida.

On Saturday, July 12, program participants will explore various aspects of Sicilian, Sicilian American, Italian and Italian American life. Speakers include: Dr. Denise Scannell, City University of New York; Dr. Stefano Luconi, University of Rome; and Dr. Patrizia La Trecchia and Andrew T. Huse, both of the University of South Florida.

“Sicilians in Tampa” coincides with the Ybor City Museum Society’s exhibition “Sicilians in Tampa: Unfolding the Journey,” which considers Sicilian and Sicilian-American life as a whole while highlighting the many contributions of Sicilian immigrants and their descendents to Tampa.

The symposium is open to the public and is free for members of the Ybor City Museum Society, L’Unione Italiana and La Nuova Sicilia; nonmembers are asked for a suggested donation of $5. All proceeds from the event support the Ybor City Museum Society’s efforts to “preserve, promote and celebrate the unique cultural heritage of Ybor City.” For more information, please contact the Symposium Coordinator at ttaylor@lib.usf.edu.