In the latest episode of Empire State Engagements Dr. Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada talks about her ethnographic study of Italian-American men’s Catholic devotion, Lifeblood of the Parish; Men and Catholic Devotion in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NYU Press, 2020). She discussed her experiences over six years of work engaging the parish community; reading tattoos as devotional texts; playfulness and devotion in masculine spaces; the rich history of Italian-American Catholicism in Williamsburg; and the endurance of this parish, tradition, and community – despite decades of challenges ranging from reactionary clergymen to Robert Moses to gentrifying hipsters.
You can view the entire conversation here.
Empire State Engagements is a long-form interview program created and hosted by Dr. Robert Chiles. It features conversations with historians of all aspects of New York State. Visit www.empirestateengagements.com for a full list of episodes.
For a full list of this week’s New York Almanack podcast announcements click HERE.
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