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WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY SOCIOLOGIST TO LECTURE ON POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF HBO TV SHOW, "THE SOPRANOS" --Dr. Susanna Tardi to discuss show's stereotyping of Italian-Americans during talk on November 3 During the past two seasons, millions of Americans have tuned in to the hit HBO original series "The Sopranos." What effect does the show's focus on an Italian-American mafia family in New Jersey have on perceptions of Italian-Americans as an ethnic group? Dr. Susanna Tardi, a professor of sociology at William Paterson University, will discuss the "The Sopranos" and the show's negative stereotyping of Italian-Americans during a lecture on Friday, November 3 titled "Desperately Seeking Real Italians: An Antidote to 'The Sopranos," to be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Library Auditorium on the campus in Wayne. Admission is free. The program is sponsored by the University's Friends of the Library. Tardi, who has spent more than 15 years studying ethnicity, explains that the main focus of Italian culture is the family. "I don't think non-Italians see the difference between an Italian family and an Italian mafia family," she argues. "Some will say that it's just a television show but the media has an enormous influence on our perceptions." She adds that the show's slogan last season, "family redefined," reinforced that negative stereotype of Italian-Americans. "The family view we get is one filled with sex, violence, four-letter words, racism, sexism and ethnocentrism," she says. "What does this say about Italian-Americans as an ethnic group?" Born in Newark, Tardi grew up in Irvington in a "working class Italian family." A first generation college graduate, she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology from Kean College, and went on to earn master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from New York University. Her research on issues of diversity, race and ethnicity has been published in numerous academic journals and been presented at regional and national conferences. She is a resident of Springfield, New Jersey. For additional information on the lecture,
please call the William Paterson University Library at 973-720-2113.
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