Срби у Амeрици и њихова периодика, књига прва

Serbian immigrant periodical publications in America are a significant source for several projects. Firstly, they provide information for the reconstruction of the history of Serb immigrants in America and the research of a number of issues regarding immigration, Americanization, social adaptation, etc. Secondly, periodical publications generated a new product: the Serb immigrant public opinion in America, that would play a significant role in the way key immigrant issues were viewed. Thirdly, periodical publications were in some cases both a product of and a factor of influence on Serb immigrant organizations, especially fratemal societies and federations, on the local, regional and national level. Fourthly, periodical publications provide a key insight into the way of life of immigrants, their social and psychological needs, changes involved in adaptation, the central role of culture in ethnic identity, the forging of a new Serbian-American identity. Last but not least, these publications provide infor¬mation on the relationship involving the protagonists of this process: the land of emigration, the land of immigration and the people who were at the same time emigrants and immi¬grants. Another factor involved in this process is the image of the Motherland, that played an important role in the first two turbulent decades of the twentieth century.