CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT:
Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat

DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE STUDIES:
Professor Virginia Cox

The Department of Italian Studies at New York University is recognized as one of the finest Italian programs in the country. It offers programs leading to the Master of Arts degree in Italian, the Master of Arts degree in Italian studies, and the Ph.D. degree in Italian. Courses are taught by an outstanding faculty with specialization in key areas of Italian literature and cultural history. Specific strengths of the faculty lie in the fields of medieval and Renaissance studies and of 20th-century literature, film, and culture. In addition to courses taught by faculty members, the program offers courses taught by eminent visiting professors from Italy and the United States. The Tiro a Segno Foundation Fellowship in Italian American Culture allows the department to appoint prominent visiting professors to teach courses concerning the experience and contribution of Italian immigrants and Italian Americans to American culture and society.

The Italian program attracts full-time graduate students of superior quality from all parts of the world. In addition to training capable and creative scholars, one of the program’s objectives is to promote the effective teaching of Italian at all levels. To this end, students teach several Italian language and literature courses, normally during the second and third years. The Italian program also welcomes qualified part-time students who wish to obtain a master’s degree. An interdisciplinary approach is recommended: students are encouraged to enroll in additional courses outside of the department, e.g., courses in history, cinema, comparative literature, and the fine arts.

NYU offers graduate students in Italian a number of unique resources. Students may take courses, pursue dissertation research, and do independent work at the magnificent Villa La Pietra, NYU’s center for study abroad in Florence, and at the University of Florence. Graduate students may also take advantage of the resources of Casa Italiana, one of the most active Italian cultural centers in New York. Casa Italiana hosts colloquia, lectures, film series, concerts, and art exhibits throughout the year. In addition, the Department of Italian Studies and Casa Italiana organize the Zerilli-Marimò Prize for Italian Fiction, awarded every year to the author of a new Italian novel, and host the winner and other authors.

Faculty

Maria Luisa Ardizzone, Associate Professor. Laurea 1967 (history), Palermo.
Medieval poetry, philosophy, and science; contemporary poetry; intellectual history.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor, Italian Studies, History; Chair, Department of Italian Studies. Ph.D. 1991 (comparative history), Brandeis; B.A. 1981 (history), California (Los Angeles).
Twentieth-century Italian culture and history; film; fascism and its memory.

Virginia Cox, Professor. Ph.D. 1990 (Italian literature), B.A. 1985 (modern and medieval languages), Cambridge.
Sixteenth-century Italian literature; history of rhetoric; early modern women’s writings.

Chiara Ferrari, Assistant Professor. Ph.D. 2003 (Italian), M.A. 1994 (Italian studies), New York; B.A. 1990 (communications), Brooklyn College (CUNY).
Nineteenth- and 20th-century Italian literature; gender studies; fascism and culture; autobiography; travel narratives; critical theory.

John Freccero, Professor, Italian Studies, Comparative Literature. Ph.D. 1958 (Romance languages), M.A. 1953 (French), B.A. (English), Johns Hopkins.
Dante; medieval poetry and poetics; Machiavelli.

Jane Tylus, Professor. Ph.D. 1985 (comparative literature), Johns Hopkins; B.A. 1978 (English), College of William and Mary.
Late medieval and early modern Italian literature, with focus on gender and religion.

ASSOCIATED FACULTY IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS

Daniel Javitch, Comparative Literature.

AFFILIATED FACULTY IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS

Josephine Hendin, English; Tony Judt, History; Antonia Lant, Cinema Studies.

REGULAR VISITING FACULTY

Lina Bolzoni, Global Distinguished Professor.