Transnational radicals : Italian anarchists in Canada and the U.S., 1915-1940 / Travis Tomchuk.

ISBN:

9780887554827

9780887554841

9780887557736

Title:

Transnational radicals : Italian anarchists in Canada and the U.S., 1915-1940 / Travis Tomchuk.

Author:

Tomchuk, Travis, author.

Personal Author:

Tomchuk, Travis, author.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Series:

Studies in immigration and culture ; 13

Studies in immigration and culture ; 13.

Contents:

Introduction -- Chapter 1 Anarchism and the Italian Tradition -- Chapter 2 Migrant Anarchists -- Chapter 3 Anarchist Culture -- Chapter 4 Anarchist Identity Formation -- Chapter 5 Factional Disputes -- Chapter 6 Deportation Struggles -- Conclusion.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Anarchism -- Canada -- History -- 20th century.

Anarchism -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

Anarchists -- Canada -- History -- 20th century.

Anarchists -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

Italians -- Canada -- History -- 20th century.

Italians -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

Transnationalism -- History -- 20th century.

POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Ideologies -- Communism & Socialism.

Anarchism. (OCoLC)fst00808387

Anarchists. (OCoLC)fst00808401

Italians. (OCoLC)fst00980750

Transnationalism. (OCoLC)fst01154884

Political Science.

Law, Politics & Government.

Socialism, Communism & Anarchism.

Geographic Term:

Canada. (OCoLC)fst01204310

United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

http://ezproxy.angliss.edu.au/login?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&AN=1234271

Publication Date:

2015

Publication Information:

Winnipeg, Manitoba :

University of Manitoba Press,

2015.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
335.8309710904 23	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Italian anarchism emerged in the latter half of the nineteenth century, during that country's long and bloody unification. Often facing economic hardship and political persecution, many of Italy's anarchists migrated to North America. Wherever Italian anarchists settled they published journals, engaged in labour and political activism, and attempted to re-create the radical culture of their homeland. Transnational Radicals examines the transnational anarchist movement that existed in Canada and the United States between 1915 and 1940.Against a backdrop of brutal and open class war--with governments calling upon militias to suppress strikes, radicals thrown in jail for publicly speaking against capitalism and the church, and those of foreign birth being deported and even executed for political activities--Italian anarchism was successfully transplanted. Transnationalism made it more difficult for states to destroy groups spread across wide geographical spaces. In Italy and abroad the strong anarchist identity informed by class, ethnicity, and gender reinforced movement values, promoted movement expansion, and assisted mobilization during times of crisis. In Transnational Radicals, Tomchuk makes use of Italian government security files and Italian-language anarchist newspapers to reconstruct a vibrant and little-studied political movement during a tumultuous period of modern North American history.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Canadian public historian Tomchuk's approach to a study of the North American Italian anarchist movement is reasonable: a transnational focus yields insights otherwise obscured by traditional state-centered studies. Unfortunately, the discussion, limited to evidence from only six cities (Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto, Windsor, Detroit, New York City, and Newark), somewhat attenuates the benefits of this approach. This aside, no previous monograph has focused on Italian migrant anarchists, and Tomchuk has made a valuable contribution to both labor history and sociology. After an introduction in which he skillfully (and evenhandedly) surveys the varieties of Italian anarchism, he makes a solid argument that Italian anarchism in its North American home mobilized resources (for declaring strikes, fleeing persecution, or combating deportations), forged an identity, and created a vibrant (but male-dominated) subculture, primarily because of its members' ability to move across intellectual (through newspapers and journals) or physical borders. The narrative regarding the struggle for the "hearts and minds" of the urban community within so many of the "little Italies," waged between the pro-Fascist Italian consulate (after 1922) and its left-wing opponents (including anarchists), is fascinating. Hopefully, subsequent studies will build upon the solid foundation established here. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries. --Robert T. Ingoglia, Caldwell University