Neighbor News
Mannella Endowed Lecturer Series at Villanova University
Alfred F. Mannella and Rose T. Lauria-Mannella Endowed Distinguished Speaker Series Lecture features Joseph L. Tropea, PhD

Please join us in Falvey Memorial Library on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m. for our annual event that focuses on scholarship about Italian-American history, culture and the immigrant experience: The Alfred F. Mannella and Rose T. Lauria-Mannella Endowed Distinguished Speaker Series Lecture. This year’s lecture will feature Joseph L. Tropea, PhD, retired professor and former chair, Department of Sociology, George Washington University.
His talk titled “First Buried, Then Married: Flawed Histories of Italian-Americans” focuses on the greatest mine disaster in U.S. History, which killed 361 persons, including 170 Italian migrants. The presentation will reveal many bizarre but illustrative errors and myths that constitute too much Italian-American history and identity. Dr. Tropea’s grandparents migrated from four regions in Italy (Abruzzo, Lazio, Basilicata and Calabria) to settle in West Virginia, two of whom were present in Monongah at the time of the 1907 disaster.
If time permits, a Q&A session will follow the talk. Light refreshments will be served.
Find out what's happening in Springfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This event, sponsored by Falvey Memorial Library, is free and open to the public.