"He is by far the most committed professor I have had to making class interesting, engaging, and welcoming to all students. He facilitated excellent conversations, and was able to draw in almost every student, even those who seemed shy and reluctant to participate."
- Anonymous Student Course Evaluation
Teaching
I teach courses at the undergraduate and graduate level on literature, writing, and interdisciplinary humanities. I've taught all levels of Italian language, as well as graduate writing workshops. I have experience leading classrooms in various modalities (in-person, remote, hybrid) and contexts (Ivy League research university, small liberal arts college, study abroad program).
Dante's Divine Comedy
I am prepared to teach Dante's Commedia in either a lecture or seminar format, at the undergraduate or graduate level. In the Fall of 2023 I will be teaching Yale's storied "Dante in Translation" lecture course.
Graduate Seminar on Lyric Poetry
In the Fall of 2023 I am teaching a graduate seminar at Yale on medieval and Renaissance Italian lyric poetry.
Interdisciplinary Sequences in Western Literature
I have experience teaching interdisciplinary humanities courses at both Columbia and Yale. Through the Literature Humanities and Directed Studies programs I have taught first year students close reading, effective argumentation, and critical writing.
History of the Italian Diaspora
In the Spring of 2024, I will be teaching a cross-listed Italian/History seminar for undergraduates on the history of the Italian diaspora in the Americas, with a focus on exiles, immigrants, and travelers.
Italian Language Courses
I have taught all levels of Italian language, from Elementary to Immersive Advanced Italian in a summer study abroad program. These language courses use the communicative method and focus on authentic language production.
Graduate-Level Academic Writing
As part of Columbia's Summer Research Program, I led a seminar on academic writing skills to a group of STEM undergraduates preparing to enter graduate school.
To Hell and Back: Literature and the Afterlife
As part of an Innovative Course Design Seminar, I developed this introductory humanities course for a broad undergraduate audience. This course explores literary representations of journeys to the afterlife across media, ranging from Dante's Inferno to the Broadway musical Hadestown.
Topics in Medieval Italian Literature
I am prepared to teach advanced seminars on variable topics in medieval Italian literature, including Boccaccio's Decameron, Petrarch's poetry and letters, and Dante's other works.
Dissertation Prospectus Workshop
Through my work at the GSAS Writing Studio, I have developed a hands-on seminar-style workshop that guides graduate students through the prospectus-writing process.
Interdisciplinary and Comparative Seminars
I would be eager to develop new courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels that push disciplinary boundaries and work across linguistic traditions and time periods. Possible topics include "The Multicultural Mediterranean in the Middle Ages" and "The Literature of Pilgrimage."
I would be happy to share the syllabus for any of these courses upon request.