Position Title
Lecturer
Profile:
I am thrilled to join the UCD Italian Faculty this Fall 2023 as an Italian Lecturer and Program Coordinator. Prior to returning to my home state of CA, I taught Italian language and Renaissance Civilization and Culture at Illinois State University, and at Hamilton College in upstate New York. In 2015, I completed my Ph.D. in Italian Studies at The University of Texas, Austin with a focus on Renaissance art and literature. My M.A. in Italian Language and Literature was completed at University of Pittsburgh.
Before my graduate studies in the US, I lived in Florence, Italy for about 13 years. I attended the Università degli Studi di Firenze, I worked in study abroad schools in Florence, and as a tour guide. Since returning to the US, I have led and directed several four to six-week summer study abroad programs in Florence, in Siena, and in Rome. Showing off Italy’s embarrassment of cultural riches to others is one of my favorite pastimes!
Fun Fact: I collaborate with an up-and-coming Italian rock band that has quite an international following. Since they sing in English, as their language advisor I help them fine-tune their lyrics and perfect their pronunciation during the recording process.
Research interests:
My background is in Renaissance art and civilization and their intrinsic interconnectivity. My dissertation explored various forms of narration in Renaissance artwork of the mid-fifteenth to mid-sixteenth centuries, and how artists may have been attempting to mimic the continuity of textual narration in the static art forms.
My research interests also include: the lives of women in the Renaissance; “new” Italian or migrant literature and arts; and contemporary Italian society and culture.
Education and Degree(s) :
Ph.D. The University of Texas, Austin
M.A. University of Pittsburgh