Take a minute to register and make conference food and event selections HERE

Conference Program - Final

Presenter Bios

Fred L. Gardaphe is Distinguished Professor of English and Italian/American Studies at Queens College/CUNY and the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. In 2026 he celebrates his  50^th year in the teaching profession. He has been writing for the Fra Noi newspaper for more than forty years. A Fulbright Fellow (University of Salerno, Italy (2011), he has served as president of the Italian American Studies Association (formerly AIHA), MELUS, and the Working Class Studies Association. He is co-chair of UNICO National’s Italian Studies, Heritage and Culture Committee. With Anthony Julian Tamburri and the late Paolo A. Giordano, he cofounded Voices in Italian Americana and Bordighera Press. Gardaphe’s ten books include Italian Signs, American Streets: The Evolution of Italian American Narrative, Dagoes Read: Tradition and the Italian/American Writer, Moustache Pete is Dead!, Leaving Little Italy, and From Wiseguys to Wise Men: Masculinities and the Italian American Gangster. He has over 20 edited books and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in the field of Italian American Studies. Since 1977 he has worked as a video script writer, journalist and has had two plays produced. His study of humor and irony in Italian American culture will be published by Penn State University Press in 2026. He has completed his first collection of short stories entitled Mammas’ Boys: Friction and a collaborative art/literature project with Filomena Coppola, an Italian Australian Artist, entitled A Generation Removed.

Call for Proposals:

Italian Americans and the Making of America: Design, Diaspora, and the Architecture of Belonging

58^th Annual Conference of the Italian American Studies Association
November 5-8, 2026

Tufts University, Medford, MA

Proposals accepted through April 17, 2026
ONE EXTENSION. Now due by April 24 at 11:59 PM
Proposals submitted via Submittable

In recognition of the 250^th anniversary of the United States, the Italian American Studies Association (IASA) invites scholars, artists, and practitioners to reflect on the theme “Italian Americans and the Making of America.” As the nation marks two and a half centuries since the Revolution, this conference examines how Italian Americans and members of the broader Italian diaspora have participated in, shaped, challenged, and reimagined the American project.

Freedom has long occupied a central place in American discourse, yet its meaning has never been stable or universally accessible. Rather than treating freedom as a self-evident ideal, this conference approaches it as a historical, cultural, social, and civic problem; one shaped by access to labor, education, enterprise, religious practice, political representation, creative expression, technological innovation, and full belonging. Across successive waves of migration, from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through postwar resettlement and into the present, Italian Americans have encountered “freedom” not as a settled condition, but as something negotiated across generations.

Hosted at Tufts University, in close proximity to the birthplace of the American Revolution, the 2026 conference invites interdisciplinary conversations that place Italian American and Italian diasporic histories at the center of the nation’s ongoing struggle over rights, recognition, dignity, and voice. We seek to foreground both historical inquiry and contemporary analysis, recognizing that the “making of America” is an unfinished and contested process.

We welcome proposals grounded in Italian American and Italian Diaspora Studies that engage a wide range of methods, archives, media, and forms of inquiry. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• How freedom has been constrained, contested, and reimagined within Italian diasporic communities across time.
• Italian Americans and the development of labor movements, religious institutions, political organizations, entrepreneurship, science, technology, architecture, design, and cultural production.
• The relationship between Italian American experiences and dominant narratives of independence, self-reliance, citizenship, and national identity.
• Racialization, whiteness, class formation, gender and sexuality, migration status, and regional identity within Italian American histories.
• Transnational and comparative perspectives that situate Italian American experiences within broader global diasporas.
• Cultural expressions, such as film, literature, poetry, music, visual arts, performance, digital humanities, and emerging media that interrogate memory, belonging, and innovation.
• Public history, community-engaged scholarship, archival projects, and creative work that illuminate the role of Italian Americans in shaping civic and cultural life.

By centering Italian American and Italian diasporic experiences within the broader narrative of the United States, this conference seeks to explore how communities once positioned at the margins have participated in defining the meaning of America itself.
 

Preparing and Submitting a Proposal
SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

Proposals should include a 250-word abstract for each submission.

• Please state clearly what you intend to demonstrate through the presentation and how it contributes to both the conference theme and to your disciplinary or creative field. The conference committee will consider proposals that do not explicitly address the conference theme but may complement it.
• Organized panels should feature no more than three presenters or creatives, not including chairs and respondents. All presentations are limited to 15-20 minutes, depending on the number of panelists.
• Accepted submissions for individual presenters will be placed with other individual presenters whose topic or discipline is similar.
• The conference committee also welcomes proposals that experiment with formats different from the traditional panel presentation. This may include roundtables, dialogues, workshops, or readings. Please describe your format clearly in the submission.

In addition to the presentation abstract, please include a 75-word bio for each participant, including chairs and respondents, in a proposed panel. Each participant’s name, affiliation, email, and preferred address should be listed. Please indicate if the presenter/panel requires AV equipment.

Proposals will be accepted through April 17^th.

Reviews will be completed, and notifications of acceptance or regret will be issued on a rolling basis as they are received. Notifications will be sent via Submittable and must be completed by April 30th.

Please note that individuals will be limited to three appearances in the program: one as a presenter or panelist, one at a roundtable, and one as a chair or moderator. Inquiries may be directed to Lisa Paolucci, Vice President, at lpaolucci@sfc.edu

We look forward to seeing everyone next week. This email provides some useful information to help as you plan for the conference.

The Conference Program

We will have printed copies of the program at the registration desk. You can view the program in advance by visiting  Annual Conference at Tufts 2026 and selecting the Conference Program-Final link.

This year's conference program offers a robust menu of film screenings, performances, readings, academic sessions, and more, with the first activity scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 1:00 pm. We hope you will engage with as much of the program as you are able!

For Presenters
For presenters on traditional session panels, please observe the 15-minute time limit, especially if you are the first presenter for your session. Your session chair will assist you with timekeeping, but it is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that your presentation fits the allocated time.  Additionally, we advise all presenters who are using PowerPoint to bring a copy of your presentation on a flash drive if you do not plan to bring your own computer.

Remembrance for Joseph Sciorra
On Saturday afternoon, beginning at 4:45 pm, IASA will hold a stand-alone 45-minute remembrance for Joseph Sciorra, who passed away earlier this month. We invite any conference participants to bring an item for a temporary altar in his memory.

Questions?

• Registration and payment: Courtney Ruffner, cjruffner@gmail.com
• Program questions and corrections: Michele Deramo, deramo@vt.edu
• Accommodation requests: Susan Frick, susan.frick@tufts.edu
• Any other questions: Lisa Paolucci, lisa.paolucci@gmail.com

Wi-Fi

The WiFi on campus is Tufts_guest

It might be helpful to review this guest wireless tip sheet in advance:

https://access.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/IT/guestwireless-1.pdf

Directions, Parking and Public Transportation

Please visit the Tufts Admissions page for information on directions and parking on campus, as well as public transportation to the campus.

For those driving, please note:

• Hourly parking is available for visitors through the payment kiosks located in the parking facilities or online through the Tufts Parking Portal. Select "hourly visitor parking." Tufts' hourly parking rates are: $2.50 per hour with a daily maximum of $20.00. For the most up-to-date parking information, visit https://access.tufts.edu/visitor-parking.

https://admissions.tufts.edu/visit/parking-and-directions/

If you are relying on ground transportation from the conference hotel to campus, an estimate for an Uber or Lyft for one person is $12.00, with an approximate five-minute drive time.

Campus Map

A map of campus is provided in the conference program. However, if you want to familiarize yourself with campus in advance, visit this interactive map that includes accessibility details and images of the buildings: Medford - Somerville Campus Map | Tufts University.

Meals

We are no longer taking orders for Friday or Saturday lunch. If you did not purchase lunch during registration, you can explore Dining on Campus | Tufts Admissions.

This article provides details on Best Restaurants, Bars & Hotels Near Tufts University (2026) | RoamRecs.  Please note that we can’t guarantee that walking there and back will fit within the designated timeframe for lunch.

At the end of this message is a list of some local places to try while in the Boston-Medford area. There are many more and none are endorsed by Tufts University. These selections include options both close to campus and further afield, as well as several in the historic North End neighborhood.

Book Exhibits

We have several exhibitors this year who will have books available for display, review, and purchase:

I AM Books

 I Am Books is an independent bookstore located in Boston’s historic North End neighborhood, and serving as a cultural hub for everyone interested in diving into the rich world of Italian and Italian American literature, history, research, art and more. I AM Books will have a pop-up bookstore on Thursday evening and all day Friday and Saturday, featuring creative writing, poetry, memoir, and

Fordham Press and SUNY Press

Each will have a collection of academic books from their Italian and Italian American Studies collections:

• Fordham Italian American Studies
• Italian Studies | State University of New York Press

Tufts Bookstore

Tufts Bookstore will host a table during lunch on Friday featuring the titles nominated for the IASA Book Award as well as selected books by the keynote, Fred Gardaphe, and Joseph Sciorra.

University of Illinois

UI Press | University of Illinois is the publisher for Diasporic Italy, the journal of the Italian American Studies Association. If you purchased a print copy of the October 2026 issue of Diasporic Italy, please visit the University of Illinois table.

North End Historical Museum & Walking Tour Information

Location: North End Historical Museum, 3 Prince Street, Boston, MA

Getting There

From Tufts University's Medford/Somerville campus, take the MBTA Green Line from Medford/Tufts to Haymarket Station. The museum is about a 5–7 minute walk from Haymarket.

For routes and schedules, visit the MBTA website.

• Museum Visit & Walking Tour

We'll begin with a brief introduction to the museum and time to explore its exhibits (approximately 30 minutes). Visitors can leave their luggage at the museum while we take a guided walking tour of the North End (approximately one hour). We'll then return to the museum to collect luggage.

Lunch

After the tour, visitors can enjoy lunch on their own. The North End has plenty of restaurants and cafés to choose from.

What to Bring

Comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.

Learn More

Watch this short video about the North End museum before your visit.

Restaurant Recommendations for IASA Attendees

Breakfast

• Diesel Café, 257 Elm Street, Davis Square, Somerville
• Friendly Toast, 1230 Mass Ave, Cambridge
• Modern Pastry, 20 Salem Street, Medford
• Mr. Crepe, 51 Davis Square, Somerville
• Revival Café and Kitchen, 197 Elm Street, Davis Square, Somerville
• Tamper Café, 340 Boston Ave, Medford

Lunch

• Ball Square Café, 708 Broadway, Somerville
• Basil Tree
• Eat Greek 215 Elm St, Somerville
• La Cocina, 853 Broadway, Somerville
• Nick’s House of Pizza, 372 Boston Ave, Medford
• Sei Bar 182 Main St, Medford
• Semolina Kitchen and Bar, 572 Boston Ave, Medford
• Soundbites Café, 704 Broadway, Somerville
• Tasty Café, 321 Boston Ave, Medford

Dinner

• Avellino’s, 313 Mystic Ave, Medford
• Bar Mezzana, 350 Harrison Ave, Boston (South End)
• BreadBoard, Arlington
• Davios, 75 Arlington Street, Boston (Back Bay)
• Exchange St Bistro, 67 Exchange St. Malden
• Inn at Hastings, 227 Mass Ave, Lexington
• Juliet 263 Washington St. Somerville
• Zoe’s 296 Beacon St. Somerville

North End (T to Haymarket)

• Bacco, 107 Salem Street, Boston
• Bricco, 241 Hanover Street, Boston
• Carmelina’s, 307 Hanover Street, Boston
• Ciao Roma, 5 North Square, Boston
• Euno, 119 Salem Street, Boston
• Limoncello, 190 North Street, Boston
• Lucca, 226 Hanover Street, Boston
• Mamma Maria, 3 North Square, Boston
• Terramia, 98 Salem Street, Boston
• Trattoria Il Panino, 280 Hanover Street, Boston
• Tresca, 233 Hanover Street, Boston