Nostos, Nostalgia and Italian Migration

The Italian immigrant experience in North America is discussed in relation to the concepts of nostos and nostalgia. The first term, normally referring to the return home from a sea voyage, is discussed comparing the foundational account of nostos, the Odyssey, with the early sojourn phase of Italian migration. By comparison, nostalgia, which can take the form either of homesickness or a longing for the past, is found in the permanent settlement phase, wherein the sense of homesickness predominates pre-World War II while that of longing for the past best defines the post-war period.

The Nation as Family

This chapter examines mother-child love linked to love for the nation within two Japanese plays. In Rio Kishida’s Thread Hell (1984), a pre–World War II silk factory represents the Japanese Empire, where a mother and her daughter are manipulated by the nation. However, they eventually challenge this symbolic realm that forces women to sustain the national lineage through their reproductive function. In Hideki Noda’s MIWA (2015), a homosexual transvestite’s relationship with his mother in the postwar period is depicted. As resistance to heteronormative ideas about family, and the nation as its extension, he commits matricide, but this leads to his melancholia as he cannot fully give up his desire to belong to a “normal” family and nation. These plays explore the ways individuals develop a critical relation to the nation by reconfiguring their love for their mother.

American National Biography

American National Biography provides access through a subscription to biographies of over 19,000 historical figures that helped to shape American history. The biographies span from pre-World War II to the present, with an emphasis on historical and cultural figures. The price varies and is based on subscription type and institution or a personal subscription, but primarily on number of users. The interface could use improvement in its advanced search features, response to queries, and incorporating automated responses. But searchability by occupation is a benefit. The content is ideal for basic research, serving needs of schools, the public, academics, and individuals with its concise content on each individual.

World War II and Experience as a British Naval Officer

In this chapter, Fisher’s marriage and brief experience in Montreal during the pre-World War II years are discussed. The bulk of this chapter concerns his induction into the Canadian Navy and his experiences on ships during the early portion of World War II. The sinking of one of the ships on which he served and his capture by the Germans are also discussed. Fisher enlisted in the Canadian Navy in 1940 and was commissioned as a Surgeon Lieutenant. In April 1941, the Germans sank the ship on which Fisher served, and he was captured and sent to Germany as a prisoner of war.