The Madonna of 115th Street; Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 1880–1950; Second Edition

by Robert A. Orsi

• ISBN13: 9780300091359
• ISBN10: 0300091354
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-03-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

In a masterful evocation of Italian Harlem and the men and women who lived there, Robert Orsi examines how the annual festa of the Madonna of 115th Street both influenced and reflected the lives of the celebrants. His prize-winning book offers a new perspective on lived religion, the place of religion in the everyday lives of men, women, and children, the experiences of immigration and community formation, and American Catholicism. This edition includes a new introduction by the author that outlines both the changes that Italian Harlem has undergone in recent years and significant shifts in the field of religious history.

Author Biography

Robert Anthony Orsi is Warren Professor of American Religious History at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition	ix
Introduction: Popular Religion and Italian Harlem	xxxix
The Days and Nights of the Festa	1	(13)
Italian Harlem	14	(36)
The Origins of the Devotion to Mount Carmel in Italian Harlem	50	(25)
The Domus-Centered Society	75	(32)
Conflicts in the Domus	107	(43)
Conflict	109	(20)
Women in Italian Harlem	129	(21)
Toward an Inner History of Immigration	150	(13)
The Meanings of the Devotion to the Madonna of 115th Street	163	(56)
The Devotion and the Community of Immigrants	163	(5)
The Devotion and the People's Faithfulness to Italy and Southern Italian Traditions	168	(3)
The Devotion and the Domus	171	(7)
The Shaping of Cara Harlem	178	(8)
The Community Reveals Itself to Itself	186	(2)
The Devotion and the Larger Collectivities of the City and Nation	188	(3)
Success	191	(2)
Healing and the Sense World of the Festa	193	(2)
The Italian Way of Being Human	195	(2)
The Festa and the World of Work	197	(5)
From Suffering to Sacrifice	202	(2)
Women and the Devotion to the Madonna of 115th Street	204	(13)
Power	217	(2)
The Theology of the Streets	219	(14)
A Note on Abbreviations	233	(2)
Notes	235	(36)
Selected Bibliography	271	(12)
Index	283