The Immigration History Research Center Archives at the University Libraries has announced its 2017-2018 Grant-in-Aid Awardees and the Immigration History Research Center’s Michael J. Karni Scholarship awardee.

The Grant-in-Aid Awardees are:

Frank Jankac

Frank Jankac’s project is Eager Immigrants, Reluctant Host: The Croatian Immigration Experience in Canada 1896-1960.

While Canada is often described as a benevolent receiving nation in accepting immigrants, historical evidence reveals the opposite. Rather, the dynamic of the immigrant in Canadian society has been directly impacted by immigration policies that granted, denied, or revoked entry into Canada.

Geopolitical conflicts in Europe also led Canadians to look upon the immigrant with even greater suspicion and resulted in dark historical episodes, particularly during periods of wartime. Critical historical investigation into the use of immigration policies and wartime measures is a recent phenomenon and the topic itself is considered the “ugly secret” of the oft romanticized interpretations of the immigrant in Canadian history.

Jankac is an independent public historian from Canada and will be researching in the archives to locate and reveal sources on the immigration of Croats to Canada from Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and Yugoslavia (in its various incarnations.)

Amy King

Amy King’s project, The Memory of Giacomo Matteotti in Italian-American Communities of the United States, explores international response to the kidnapping and murder of Socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti in 1924.

She will examine in our archives the Italian-Americans’ efforts to commemorate Matteotti in ceremonies, print culture, and public space, and consider the dual function of his memory: as a means of inspiring commitment to the antifascist struggle from afar and as a pledge of loyalty to the inherent values of the United States.

She will also question how long Matteotti’s martyrdom remains resonant in Italian American communities, and ask whether this changes as Italo-American relations evolve, hinting at the socio-political function of commemoration. King is a Ph.D. Candidate, Italian Studies, University of Bristol, United Kingdom.

Matthew Reza

Matthew Reza’s project is titled Uncovering Italian Fairy Tales in the U.S. As millions of Italian migrants crossed the Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they brought with them many social practices and customs, including storytelling.

The aim of this project is to investigate the extent to which Italian fairy and folk tales arrive, evolve, or disappear in the United States during the 20th century, and the extent to which tales were a part of Italian migrant culture over the generations.

Reza, DPhil, is a University of Oxford (U.K.) tutor, lecturer and postdoctoral research assistant for the project Cultures on the Move: Italy and the USA.

The Karni Scholar is Rosaria Franco

Rosaria Franco is researching in our archives for the project Resettlement of Estonian Children from the British Zone of Occupation in Germany to the United States.

In this work, Franco, Ph.D., is looking at the Cold War politics that prevented the repatriation of Estonian children to their home country after 1947 and resulted in their resettlement for adoption and other forms of placement to the United States. Franco is Assistant Professor in Modern European History, University of Nottingham Ningbo, China.

Congratulations to all! Please watch for future announcements about Research-in-Progress talks.