Education
December 2004: Ph.D in French from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Specialization: Twentieth Century French Literature.
December 1996: M.A degree in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
July 1993: degree of "dottore in lingue e letterature straniere" from the University of Florence, Italy. Graduated with the final score of 110 with honor (magna cum laude).
Teaching
Fall semester 2007 – present: Assistant professor of French and Italian, University of Scranton.
Fall semester 2006: adjunct instructor of French at Doane College, Crete, Nebraska.
January 2005 - present: adjunct instructor of French at Nebraska Wesleyan University: classes taught include second year French, French composition and conversation, French culture and civilization, French literature.
Fall 2004: lecturer of French (French 301) at UNL.
2003-2004: mentor in French for the “highly gifted student” program at Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1996-2002: graduate teaching assistant/lecturer of Italian and French in the Modern Language Department at UNL. Classes taught include: Italian 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 302; French 101, 102, 202, 204. Supervised study abroad program for Italian.
1995-96: graduate research assistant in the English Department at UNL.
1991-94: teacher of Italian at the language school Istituto Europeo in Florence, Italy.
- Elementary Italian
- Elementary French, French Culture and Civilisation, Francophone Culture and Civilisation, French Short Story, French Literature of the XX and XXI Century, Francophone Women and Film (cross-listed with Women's studies), Introduction to French Literature, Business French, Medical French, XVII Century French Theater, French Africa Through Literature.
Mentoring
I assisted French student Caitlin Delaney in revising an essay to be submitted to the Women in French Studies Undergraduate contest. Her essay was on French feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.
Research
Current research: Francophone women writers; French and Francophone film.
Doctoral dissertation
“A Process of Reduction: Feminine Voices and Bodies in Samuel Beckett’s Late Drama.”
Publications
Journal articles:
“The Cinematic Gaze as Social Activism: Yamina Benguigui from Documentary to Fiction.” Al-Raida 124 (2009): 32-39.
“Body, Language and Sexuality in Beckett’s Oh les beaux jours” Chimères (Spring 2003): 27.
Accepted forthcoming publications
Book chapter:
“We are not in Hollywood Anymore: Female Representation and Spatial Relations in Jacques Doillon’s film Raja.” Selected proceedings from “Image and Imagery,” International Conference, Brock University, St. Catharine, Ontario, Canada. Peter Lang Publishing. Estimated publication: Winter 2010.
Journal articles:
“Patterns of Feminine Discourse in Samuel Beckett’s Pas moi.” Chimères: A Journal of French Language, Literature and Culture. Tentative publication date Winter-Spring 2010.
“Escaping Matriarchal Power: Rebellion and Transgression in Calixthe Beyala’s C’est le soleil qui m’a brulée and Femme nue femme noire.” Women in French Studies, Winter 2010, special issue on “Rivalry, Cooperation, Conspiracy and Patronage: Studies in the Dynamics of Women’s Interaction in French Literature and Culture.”
Book Reviews:
Toman, Cheryl. Contemporary Matriarchies in Cameroonian Francophone Literature. Birmingham: Summa, 2008. In Women in French Studies. Scheduled to appear inVol. 18, 2010.
Block, Marcelline, ed. Situating the Feminist Gaze and Spectatorship in Postwar Cinema. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars P, 2008. In Studies in Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Literature. Tentatively scheduled to appear in 34.2, Summer 2010.
Currently Under Consideration for Publication
“What Future for Women? Re-constructing Feminine Space in Post-independence Algerian Cinema.” Submitted to MIFLC Review.
Conference papers
October 8-10, 2009: 59th Annual Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference. Furman University, Greenvillle SC. Paper title: “What Future for Women? Re-constructing Feminine Space in Post-independence Algerian Cinema.”
July 12-16, 2009: International Association of Special Education Eleventh Biennial Conference. University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Paper title: “Hear our Voices: Italian Families Speak about Their Children with Disabilities.”
October 2008: “Image and Imagery.” Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Cadada. Paper title: “We are not in Hollywood Anymore: Female Representation and Spatial Relations in Jacques Doillon’s film Raja.”
March 2008: “Women: Home and Nation.” Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY. Presented paper titled: “The Impossible Transgression: (Re)defining Gender Boundaries in the Works of Calixte Beyala.”
February 2007: Twentieth Century Literature Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Presented paper titled: “La violence du langage dans ‘Je ne suis pas sortie de ma nuit‘ d’Annie Ernaux et Splendid Hôtel de Marie Redonnet.”
May 2000: Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures (University of Cincinnati). Special session on Samuel Beckett. Presented paper “Nier la féminité: maternité et mort dans Pas et Berceuse de Samuel Beckett.”
May 1998: Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures (University of Cincinnati). Presented paper titled “Le désir déplacé: corps, sexualité et langage dans Fin de partie et Oh les beaux jours de Samuel Beckett.”
April 1998: Kentucky Foreign Language Conference (Lexington, Kentucky). Presented paper entitled “Riscrivere lo spazio e il tempo: mito e religione in Vita e morte di Adria e dei suoi figli di Massimo Bontempelli.”
University of Scranton Grants (funded)
Equity and Diversity Grant Spring 2009 to fund French Music Group C’est si bon
Intersession 2009 Faculty Development Grant for French major revision
Equity and Diversity Grant Spring 2008 to fund French Theater Group Théâtre de la Chandelle Verte
Service
To the department:
Spring 2010: Senior assessment methods committee
September 2007 - present: hosted and co-hosted activities for the Italian and French Clubs at the University of Scranton
To the University of Scranton:
Fall 2009-present: Women’s Studies Executive Committee member
Fall 2008-present: Library Committee Representative
Fall 2007-present: co-organizer with Dr. Virginia Picchietti of the University of Scranton Study in Florence summer program
To the profession:
January 2010: contributed annotated bibliography on Francophone Cinema to the Women in French Spring 2010 Newsletter.
Spring 2001: contributed as a reviewer to the intermediate Italian textbook In Viaggio: Moving Toward Fluency in Italian. McGraw-Hill, 2002
1997-2002 and Fall 2005: hosted the Italian language conversation hour
1999: graduate student representative on graduate committee (UNL modern language department).
Professional Affiliations and Memberships
WIF (Women in French)
ACTFL (American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages)
Study in Florence
This faculty-led 4-week Summer Program in Florence provides a unique educational opportunity to University of Scranton students who either want to learn the Italian language, improve previously acquired language skills, or wish to know more about aspects of Italian culture such as Medieval or Renaissance literature. The University of Scranton has teamed up with the Istituto Europeo (IE) a government-accredited, Florence-based language school, in order to offer a variety of classes to suit the students’ needs and interests. More information about IE can be found online at www.istitutoeuropeo.it
University of Scranton students who enroll in the program may register for one of the following courses: