Rudolph J. Vecoli
Rudolph J. Vecoli | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1927 Wallingford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | June 17, 2008 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
|
| Merle Curti | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Historian |
Sub-discipline | |
| Institutions | University of Minnesota (1967–2005) |
Doctoral students | Jon Gjerde |
Rudolph John Vecoli (March 27, 1927 – June 17, 2008) was an American historian particularly known for his work on the history of immigration to the United States, who was professor at the University of Minnesota and served as director of Minnesota's interdisciplinary Immigration History Research Center 1967–2005. He was an Italian American, a founder and president of the American Italian Historical Association and of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society, and chairman of the history committee advising the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation 1983–2003.
Early life and education
Vecoli was born on March 27, 1927,[1] in Wallingford, Connecticut, to Italian immigrant parents from Tuscany; he grew up speaking Italian at home. He served in the US Navy before earning a bachelor's in history from the University of Connecticut in 1950. He went on to earn a master's from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 with work on the National Child Labor Committee and then, after several disillusioning years working in the State Department during the McCarthy era, a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the supervision of Merle Curti in 1963. His doctoral thesis was on Chicago's Italian immigrants.[2][3][4]
Career
Vecoli taught briefly at Rutgers University and the University of Illinois before joining the University of Minnesota in 1967 as a professor of history and director of a new Immigration History Research Center (IHRC), where he continued to work through his retirement in 2005.[2][3][4] At Minnesota, his notable students included later University of California, Berkeley historian and social sciences dean Jon Gjerde (PhD 1982).[4][5]
He was particularly recognized for his contributions to historiography of immigration and social history, such as the early paper "Contadini in Chicago: A Critique of The Uprooted" (1964) criticizing Oscar Handlin's The Uprooted.[3] This work associated him with the New Social History movement.[4]
Vecoli was a founder and later president of the American Italian Historical Association (president 1966–1970) and of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society (president 1982–1985). He was also chairman of the history committee advising the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation for twenty years, 1983–2003.[2]
Death and legacy
Vecoli died on June 17, 2008,[1] aged 81, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[2]
The Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis–St. Paul maintains a Rudi Vecoli library named in his honor.[6]
Selected works
Books
Articles
- Vecoli, Rudolph J. (December 1964). "Contadini in Chicago: A Critique of The Uprooted". The Journal of American History. 51 (3): 404–417. doi:10.2307/1894893. JSTOR 1894893.
References
- 1 2 "Vecoli, Rudolph J." Library of Congress. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Grimes, William (June 23, 2008). "Rudolph J. Vecoli, Scholar of Immigration, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Rudolph J. Vecoli papers". University of Minnesota Libraries. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Gjerde, Jon (Winter 2009). "Rudolph J. Vecoli and the New Social History: An Appreciation". Journal of American Ethnic History. 28 (2): 4, 7–21. JSTOR 40543384.
- ↑ Hollinger, David A. (April 2009). "Jon Gjerde: Historian of immigration and ethnicity". American Historical Association. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ↑ "Rudi Vecoli Library". Italian Cultural Center: Minneapolis / St. Paul. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
- ↑
- Forness, Norman O. (1967). "Review of The People of New Jersey. [The New Jersey Historical Series, Supplementary Volume.]". The Historian. 29 (2): 272–273. ISSN 0018-2370. JSTOR 24438261.
- Munroe, John A. (1971). "Review of The People of New Jersey". The Journal of American History. 58 (1): 195–197. doi:10.2307/1890149. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 1890149.
- Nichols, Roy F. (1966). "Review of Woodrow Wilson, Reform Governor: A Documentary Narrative; Organized Labor in New Jersey; The People of New Jersey, Rudolph J. Vecoli". The American Historical Review. 71 (3): 1089–1091. doi:10.2307/1846234. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 1846234.
- Schauer, Robert V. (1968). "Review of The People of New Jersey". The International Migration Review. 2 (3): 92–93. doi:10.2307/3002638. ISSN 0197-9183. JSTOR 3002638.
- ↑
- Gabaccia, Donna (1988). "Review of Italian Immigrants in Rural and Small Town America". The Journal of American History. 75 (3): 971–972. doi:10.2307/1901652. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 1901652.
- La Sorte, Michael (1988). "Review of Italian Immigrants in Rural and Small Town America". Journal of American Ethnic History. 8 (1): 82–84. ISSN 0278-5927. JSTOR 27500648.
- Pinsky, Clara Regnoni-Macera (1990). "Review of Italian Immigrants in Rural and Small Town America". Italica. 67 (2): 258–260. doi:10.2307/478616. ISSN 0021-3020. JSTOR 478616.
- Santucci, John A. (1988). "Review of Italian Immigrants in Rural and Small Town America". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 47 (2): 184–185. doi:10.2307/40038152. ISSN 0004-1823. JSTOR 40038152.
- ↑
- Akenson, Donald Harman (1992). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". The International History Review. 14 (4): 784–785. ISSN 0707-5332. JSTOR 40107129.
- Brogan, Hugh (1995). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". The English Historical Review. 110 (436): 514–515. doi:10.1093/ehr/CX.436.514. ISSN 0013-8266. JSTOR 576126.
- Bukowczyk, John J. (1996). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". Polish American Studies. 53 (2): 107–108. ISSN 0032-2806. JSTOR 20148496.
- Erickson, Charlotte (1993). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". The Economic History Review. 46 (2): 422–423. doi:10.2307/2598042. ISSN 0013-0117. JSTOR 2598042.
- Hoglund, A. William (1994). Altman, Ida; Horn, James; Vecoli, Rudolph J.; Sinke, Suzanne M. (eds.). "Defining the 'Trans-Atlantic' Perspective on Immigration to the Americas". Reviews in American History. 22 (1): 91–96. doi:10.2307/2703352. ISSN 0048-7511. JSTOR 2703352.
- Johansson, S. Ryan (1994). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". Contemporary Sociology. 23 (3): 394–395. doi:10.2307/2075336. ISSN 0094-3061. JSTOR 2075336.
- Kraut, Alan M. (1994). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". Journal of American Ethnic History. 13 (4): 46–49. ISSN 0278-5927. JSTOR 27501898.
- Mondale, Clarence (1992). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1880-1930". American Studies International. 30 (1): 127. ISSN 0883-105X. JSTOR 41279055.
- Pahl, Denis (1992). "Review of A Century of European Migrations 1830-1930". The International Migration Review. 26 (4): 1467–1468. doi:10.2307/2546899. ISSN 0197-9183. JSTOR 2546899.
- Pozzetta, George E. (1992). "Review of A Century of European Migrations, 1830-1930". The Journal of American History. 79 (2): 653. doi:10.2307/2080092. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 2080092.
External links
- Papers in the University of Minnesota Libraries
- Rudi Vecoli Library at the Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis–Saint Paul
- 1927 births
- 2008 deaths
- People from Wallingford, Connecticut
- 20th-century American historians
- Historians of immigration to the United States
- Social history of the United States
- Italian-American history
- University of Connecticut alumni
- University of Pennsylvania alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- University of Minnesota faculty