I.O.H.I. Coming Soon

“AIHA in LA - 2005”
38th annual conference of the AIHA - American Italian Historical Association
Los Angeles, California, November 3-6, 2005

Download the conference flyer (pdf, 228KB)

This conference will focus on research in the fields of oral history, local history, ethnography, and oral tradition, as they pertain to Italians in America, and will consider: research methodologies, applications, and their sites (academia, community, public sector). Check www.iohi.org and for further details and updates.

Proposed themes:
1) Oral history research and Italians in America: methodologies and applications
2) Ethnography, oral tradition, and its sites: academia, community, public sector
3) Italians in Southern California: local history, institutions, organizations, community life, special projects, etc.
4) Any topic in the area of Italian/American studies

Sponsoring Institutions:
Under the auspices of the Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles, Dr. Diego Brasioli.
Italian Oral History Institute (IOHI), Istituto Italiano di Cultura (IIC), George L. Graziadio Chair in Italian Studies (California State University Long Beach), National Italian American Foundation (NIAF); UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, UCLA Oral History Program, with the additional support of the Historic Italian Hall Foundation.

“AIHA in LA 2005” program highlights will include:
1) Plenary speaker: Alessandro Portelli, Università La Sapienza, Rome: “What Makes Oral History Different?”
2) UCLA programs:
a) presentation of the Repertorium Colombianum by Geoffrey Symcox
b) Oral history research workshop by the UCLA Oral History Program
c) Sound and visual archives presentation by the Italian Oral History Institute and the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archives;
3) Musicàntica in concert: Los Angeles-based, Italian and Mediterranean traditional music ensemble, with Enzo Fina (Salento), Roberto Catalano (Catania) (see multimedia festival: Italian Los Angeles: Celebrating Italian Life, Local History, and the Arts in Southern California)
4) Exhibitions: Leo Politi: Children’s Book Illustrator, Losangeleno; and Alan Lomax in the Salento: Photographs from the 1960s (see multimedia festival: Italian Los Angeles: Celebrating Italian Life, Local History, and the Arts in Southern California)
5) Workshops on traditional Italian dance and Salentine frame drum (see multimedia festival: Italian Los Angeles: Celebrating Italian Life, Local History, and the Arts in Southern California)
6) Historic and cultural tours of Italian Los Angeles, including: e.g., Historic Italian Hall Foundation, Casa Italiana, Watts Towers

Call for Papers:
To participate, send completed registration form in pdf (156KB) or doc (56KB), including name, affiliation, contact information, a paper title, short and long abstracts of proposal, to address below by June 1, 2005.

Project Description:
As a project of the ITALIAN ORAL HISTORY INSTITUTE, Italian Los Angeles will provide a guide to Italian resources in the greater Los Angeles area: from markets, restaurants, businesses, and artisans, to cultural, educational institutes and associations, to festivals and celebrations, historical sites, human resources, bibliography, and more. This comprehensive guide will be invaluable to anyone interested in Italian life and history in the Los Angeles area: residents, tourists, students, scholars, business persons, and others.

Background:
In 1990, Luisa Del Giudice was commissioned by the Folk and Traditional Arts Program (City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department) to undertake a Preliminary Survey of Italian Folklife in Los Angeles. They wanted to know about this somewhat “invisible” community: where it was located, what customs and traditions were still practiced, and who its leaders, performers, and others, were. The survey has proven extremely useful, and has served many in the last decade. This preliminary compilation will form the basis of an expanded and updated project, and be made available to a wider public. Since 2003, the IOHI, together with interested student interns and other volunteers, and in collaboration with other Los Angeles-based cultural, commercial, and educational entities, has coordinated this large-scale effort to make the Italian community and its resources better known and more visible, to the community itself and to others, through this online guide to Italian Los Angeles.

Sponsorships:
This project has received the financial support of the Italian Consul General of Los Angeles, NIAF (National Italian American Foundation), and the Graziadio Chair in Italian Studies, California State University, Long Beach.

Donations:
To make a donation to this project and have your name acknowledged on the www.ItalianLosAngeles.org Web site, please send your check to “Italian Oral History Institute” at address below.

Want to help? See Volunteer/Internship page:

Questionnaire:
Please take the time to send us information about Italian resources you know. Send us a completed questionnaire if you can. Request a paper or digital copy of the questionnaire by contacting the IOHI. Make as many copies as needed (one per entry: site, organization, event, etc.), and return to the IOHI either by mail, fax, or E-mail:

ITALIAN LOS ANGELES:
Celebrating Italian Life, Local History, and the Arts in Southern California

October 1-November 6, 2005
The Italian Oral History Institute (IOHI), together with local institutions, will produce a multi-media festival for October 1-November 6, 2005 entitled: Italian Los Angeles: Celebrating Italian Life, Local History, and the Arts in Southern California. Look for concerts and workshop on traditional Italian music and dance, poetry readings, exhibitions, films, lectures, book presentations, and more.

Guide to Italian Los Angeles	Tel: (310) 474-1698
IOHI - ITALIAN ORAL HISTORY INSTITUTE	Fax: (310) 474-3188
P.O. Box 241553	E-mail:
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1553	Web: www.iohi.org