Myriam Swennen Ruthenberg
Associate Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature; Interim Chair, Department Languages & Linguistics

PhD in Italian, New York University
MA in Italian, The University of California at Los Angeles
MA in Translation Studies, the State University of Antwerp, Belgium

Research interests and publications in: The Italian Renaissance, with emphasis on the novella; re-writing of Medieval and Renaissance texts in contemporary Italian literature; the Hebrew Bible in literature with emphasis on Erri De Luca; literature and cinema; translation studies.

Recent publications: Scrivere nella polvere: Saggi su Erri De Luca. Ed. Myriam Swennen Ruthenberg. Pisa : ETS, 2005; "Telling Lies, Telling Lives: Giovanni Sercambi between 'Cronaca' and 'Novella'" in The Italian Novella: A Book of Essays. Ed. Gloria Allaire. New York, Routledge (1999): 69-80; "'Eccomi' sulla spiaggia-confine di 'Tu, mio': Erri De Luca, il mare e l'asciutto." Narrativa 20/21- Université de Paris X, Nanterre. (2001) 169-80; From Water to Dust: A Dehydrating Essay on Erri De Luca." Differentia 1. 1-2 (1999[2000]): 51-59; "Prove di domanda: Intervista silenziosa con Erri De Luca." Gradiva 1.7 (1998): 51-62; "Death of an Epic, Death of an Epoch: Ariosto and Tasso in Tomasi di Lampedusa's 'Il Gattopardo'" Forum Italicum 32.2 (1998): 403-26.

Forthcoming: Pisa: ETS, 2004; "Erri De Luca." Contemporary Italian Fiction. Ed. Luca Somigli and Manuela Gieri in Dictionary of Literary Biographies. Gale Research Company.

Teaching awards: 1999 Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching; Teaching Incentive Program Award, 1994.Leadership Enhancement Award Program recipient, 2002.

Treasurer, American Association for Italian Studies, 1999-2001.

Emanuele Pettener
Visiting Instructor, Italian Language Coordinator

Most recent publication: Inrerview with Roberto Pazzi, Forum Italicum (2004). “Una stagione in Florida” (Fiction) Nuova prosa (2004). Grassona (Fiction) Coastlines 2004. "Green Symphony: Ritratto in Verde on Proust." Prospektiva 5.22 (2003). "Like Father, Unlike Son: The Novels of Dan Fante." Voices in Italian Americana 12.2, 2001.

Anthony Julian Tamburri
Associate Dean for Research, Graduate, and Interdisciplinary Programs;
Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature

PhD, Italian & Spanish (1983) University of California, Berkeley
MA, Italian (1972) Middlebury College
BS, Italian, Spanish & Second. Ed. (1971) Southern Connecticut State University

Research interests and publications: modern Italian literature and art, Italian/American studies, cinema, semiotics, popular culture. Recent publications: Una semiotica della ri-lettura: Guido Gozzano, Aldo Palazzeschi, e Italo Calvino (Franco Cesati Editore, 2003), also available in English as Semiotics of Re-reading: Guido Gozzano, Aldo Palazzeschi, and Italo Calvino (Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2003); Italian/American Briefs: A Semiotic Reading of Short Films & Videos (Purdue UP 2002); A Semiotic of Re-reading: Italo Calvino's "Snow Job" (Chancery, 1999); A Semiotic of Ethnicity: In (Re)cognition of the Italian/American Writer ( SUNY 1998). He has also recently co-edited the following: with Paolo A. Giordano, eds Esilio, migrazione, sogno americano. Italiana X (Bordighera Press, 2002); and with Anna Camaiti Hostert, Screening Ethnicity: Cinematographic Representations of Italian Americans in the United States (Bordighera Press, 2002), also available in Italian as Scene italoamericane: rappresentazioni cinematografiche degli italiani d’America (Luca Sossella Editrice, 2002).

Teaching: elementary Italian language courses; Italian Cinema and Culture; Italian/American Literature and Film; Theories and Developments of "Narrative" Fiction; Studies in [Literary]; Theory; Italy's Dynamic Duo: Fictional Writings of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco; The Academic Novel and Film.

Awards and Grants: Distinguished Alumnus for the Year 2000. Southern Connecticut State University; Sonia Raiziss-Giop Foundation; Certificate of Appreciation for Distinguished Contribution to the National Defense; National Italian American Foundation; Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli.

Giada Biasetti
Teaching Assistant, MA-candidate, Comparative Literature

Chiara Mazzucchelli
Teaching Assistant

Ph.D. Candidate, Comparative Studies

Sebastiano Pengue
Adjunct Instructor

MA Italian Studies, University of Toronto
Postgraduate work at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City

Alessandra Senzani
Graduate Teaching Assistant

PhD Candidate, Comparative Studies
“Laurea di dottore” in interpretation, SSLiMIT, University of Bologna
MA in English Youngstown State University

Ilaria Serra has written numerous articles and is the author of: Immagini di un immaginario: L'Emigrazione Italiana negli Stati Uniti fra i due secoli (1890-1924). Verona: Cierre Edizioni, 1997. Her most recent publication is “Tony De Nonno: Documentary of Italian Americana” VIA (2005).

Rosina Zimmer,
Teaching assistant, MA-candidate, Comparative Literature