Lisa Marchi
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Education |
01/05/2013–30/04/2014: Postdoctoral fellow, University of Trento, Italy 10/2008 – 04/2011: Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Trento, Italy. PhD title: “Creolizing Diaspora: Home and Identity, Language and Hospitality in Arab Diasporic Literature” defended on April 27th, 2011. This PhD resulted, among others, in one high-level publication (Comparative Literarature Studies) and the PhD Award of the University of Trento 05/2010 – 12/2010: Graduate Research Trainee, McGill University, Institute for Islamic Studies, Montréal, Québec 10/2009 – 12/2009: Visiting Research Student, UCLA, Department of Comparative Literature and Near Eastern Studies, Los Angeles, USA 04/03/2005: Degree in Intercultural Studies (equivalent to B.A.+M.A.), specialization Arabic Studies, with honors, Università di Trieste |
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Academic career and teaching activities |
Current Position Assistant Professor, Angloamerican Languages and Literatures, graduate program in Euro-American Literatures, Translation, and Literary Criticism Department of Humanities, University of Trento Qualifications National Qualification for Associate Professorship in English and Anglo-American Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Validity of the qualification: 19/04/2021 – 19/04/2030 Academic Teaching in Italy 03/03/2022-present: Assistant Professor in Angloamerican Languages and Literatures and Gender Studies, Department of Humanities, University of Trento 02/2021-09/2021: Adjunct Professor, graduate program in Euro-American Literatures, Translation, and Literary Criticism University of Trento, (responsible for the online module Contemporary US Poetry and the Planet, 30h) 20/03/2021: Seminar, Master degree (first level) in Diversity Management: Inclusion and Equity, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento (online, 2 h) 02/2020-09/2020: Adjunct Professor, graduate program in Euro-American Literatures, Translation, and Literary Criticism Department of Humanities, University of Trento (responsible for the module US Poetry in the World: From the Multicultural Canon to Global Interconnections, 30h) 18/04/2020: Seminar, Master degree (first level) in Diversity Management: Inclusion and Equity, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento (online, 1 h) 01/10/2016 – 30/09/2019: Adjunct professor, Academic Writing in English (30 hrs; 3 years), University of Trento 01/10/2015 – 20/09/2016: Adjunct professor, Angloamerican Language, Literature, and Translation (30 hrs; 1 year), University of Trento 29/02/2016 – 24705/2016: Tutor, Gender Studies Lecture Series “Letteratura, generi e affetti: Per una cittadinanza condivisa," University of Trento 01/10/2014 – 30/09/2016: Adjunct professor, Teacher training course for English Language and Civilization (46 hrs; 2 years), University of Trento Academic Teaching Abroad 16/11/2022: Seminar (2hrs), "“Arab-American Poetry and the ”Tales Within-a-Tale" Structure, School of Arts and Sciences, American University of Dubai, AUE 10/ 2014: Seminar (10 hrs), “Women Poets of the Arab Diaspora in the USA,” Dept. of Comparative Literature, University of Turku, Finland 05/04/2012: Seminar (4 hrs), “Translating the Middle East to a Western Audience: The Cycle ‘Changing Perceptions’ by Arab-American Artist Helen Zughaib,” AHRC Collaborative Teaching Session, Howard University, Washington DC, USA 10/10/2011: Seminar (4 hrs), “Cultural Translation Within the British Nation: Leila Aboulela’s The Translator and ‘The Museum,’” AHRC Collaborative Teaching Session, Museum Studies Department, University of Leicester, UK
ACADEMIC SERVICE Conference Organization and Book Presentations 14-15/01/2019: Co-organization of the UNIRE International Graduate Conference “Gender Violence is Also a Cultural Issue!” Dip. Humanities, University of Trento 11/04/2018: Book presentation with Sara Borrillo (University of Naples, L’Orientale) “Femminismi e Islam in Marocco: Attiviste laiche, teologhe e predicatrici,” University of Trento 15/11/2016: Co-organization of a transnational seminar on Masculinity Studies “Maschilità: Prospettive critiche in Giamaica, Germania e Italia,” University of Trento 01/10/2015–30/05/2016: Co-organization of a lecture series on Gender and Interculturality Studies “Letteratura, generi e affetti: Per una cittadinanza condivisa,” University of Trento 05/2014: Organization of the seminar with poets Iman Mersal and Georges Abou-Hsab “Writing on the Threshold / Poètes migrants ou poètes errants?” University of Trento 09/2011: Co-organization of the 21st International AISNA Conference, Democracy and Difference: The US in Multidisciplinary and Contemporary Perspectives, University of Trento
Other Academic Responsibilities 2022-present: Contact person for internships and intership replacement activities, Dep. Humanities, University of Trento 2022-present: Guidance for university choice, Dep. Humanities, University of Trento 2016 – 2017: Member of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group nominated by the Rector Paolo Collini |
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Research interests |
Contemporary US Literature, Arab Multilingual Literature, Women's Writing and Gender Studies, Arab and Islamic Studies, Migration and Diaspora Studies |
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Research work |
Individual Research 30/09/2019 - 28/11/2019: Visiting Researcher, AUB, Lebanon 02/05 – 05/05/2017: Writer in Residence, Centre for English Studies (ULICES), Universidad de Lisboa, Lisbon 19/10/2014 – 20/12/2014: Visiting scholar, Centre for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, Universität Humboldt, Berlin 04/05/2014–11/05/2014: Scholar in Residence, OASIS (Orientale American Studies International School), University “L’Orientale” di Napoli, Procida
Participation in International Research Groups and Networks 12/03/2022-present: Member of the CIVIS (Alliance Program for International, Interdisciplinary and Intersectoral Research and Training for Experienced Researchers) international research group PostRacial Trans-Modernities: Afro-European Relations, Mediterranean Trajectories and Intercultural Reciprocities (coordinated by Assamina Karavanta and Mata Dimakopoulou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) 12/2018-present: Member of the European research network UN.I.RE (UNiversità In REte contro la violenza di genere) coordinated by prof. Marina Calloni (Milano Bicocca University) and funded by the Presidency of the Council of the Ministers – Department of Equal Opportunities 01/01/2014 - 31/12/2017: Member of the international research group Out of the Ordinary: Challenging Commonplace Concepts in Anglophone Literature (Prof. Joel Kuortti), funded by the Academy of Finland, University of Turku, Finland 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2013: Member of the AHRC funded research network Behind the Looking-Glass: ‘Other’-cultures-within translating cultures (Prof. Joan Anim-Addo), www.gold.ac.uk/caribbean/behind-the-looking-glass/ 01/03/2009 31/12/2009: Member of the Research Group Traveling Concepts in Interculturality, a subgroup of the Advanced European Thematic Network in Women’s Studies Athena3. |
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Memberships in societies and scientific committees |
EAAS (European Association for American Studies) AISNA (Italian Association for American Studies) IASA (International American Studies Association) MESA (Middle East Studies Association) AMEWS (Association for Middle East Women's Studies) EURAMES (European Network of Middle Eastern Studies) SESAMO (Società Italiana di Studi sul Medio Oriente) CSIG (Centro Studi Interdisciplinari di Genere)
Editorial Activities 2021-present: Member of the international Editorial Board of Mïtra: Art and Literature Magazine 2020-present: Member of the Advisory Board of Synthesis: An Anglophone Journal of Comparative Literary Studies (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) 2019-present: Reviewer for RIAS (Review of International American Studies), RSA (Rivista di studi americani), Ácoma, College Literature, Italian Americana, Middle Eastern Literature, Ticontre, and Iperstoria: Journal of American and English Studies. Guest editor for Al-Raida / The Pioneer vol. 44 no. 1 (2020) Special Issue on Gender and Revolution published by the Arab Institute for Women (AiW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU) in Beirut, Lebanon.
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Awards and honours |
Formal invitation from the American University of Dubai to present the book The Funambulists: Women Poets of the Arab Diaspora, AUD, School of Arts and Sciences, Dubai, AUE Invitation to participate to the international AGYA (Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities) conference "Destruction/(Re)construction: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cultural Heritage in Conflict," Sept. 29, 2019-Oct. 3, 2019, AUB and OIB (Orient Insitute in Beirut), Lebanon "Stillness: Forms of Migration in Contemporary Arab Diasporic Art and Literature": Essay selected for the translation from English to French and inclluded in the journal Critique d'Art n° 59, electronic and paper format Funding for Travel and Accommodation Expenses for the Marie Curie Individual Fellowship Event 2018 (21-22/05/2018), funded by the University of Turku Research Services 2013 JFK Institute Library Research Grant, Free University, Berlin Travel Award to participate in the 6th Feminist Theory Workshop, Duke Universtity, North Carolina, USA Best Doctoral Student Research Award 2009-2010, University of Trento, Italy Canadian Studies Doctoral Student Research Award 2009-2010 funded by the Canadian Government |
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Conferences and lectures |
22/11/2022: “Slow Violence and Environmental Justice in Contemporary US Poetry: A Reading of Jennifer Elise Foester's Leaving Tulsa and Zaina Alsous's A Theory of Birds.” 10th World Congress of IASA Matters of Life: Human Scapes and Scopes, Nov. 22-24, 2022, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprashta University, Delhi, India 16/11/2022: Book launch The Funambulists: Women Poets of the Arab Diaspora, School of Arts and Sciences, American University of Dubai, AUE 06/05/2022: “Homes: A Quartet.” Symposium Haunted by Homes organized by Amina ElHalawani, May 5-6, 2022, Institute of Cultural Inquiry, Berlin (by invitation) 30/03/2022: Book presentation In filigrana. Poesia arabo-americana scritta da donne. Aula Magna, Palazzo Manzoni, Department of Humaniries, University of Perugia. 18/11/2021: Book presentation In filigrana. Poesia arabo-americana scritta da donne, School of Linguistic Mediation and Intercultural Communication, University of Milan La Statale, Sesto San Giovanni. 22/10/2021: (together with Fatima Sai) “L’11 settembre nella poesia arabo-americana: inclinazioni, eclissi e rifrazioni.” 11 settembre 2001-2021. Ripercussioni e rappresentazioni di un evento globale. Oct. 21-22 2021, University of Naples L'Orientale (by invitation) 24/09/2021: “Is World Literature a Swindle? Michael Cooperson’s Translation of al-Harīrī’s Maqāmāt.”Crossing Territories. Recognition Across Time, Space, and Textuality in the US and Beyond. 26th AISNA Biennial Conference, Department of Humanities, L’Aquila, Sept. 23-25, 2021 29/06/2021: “Etel Adnan’s Paris, When It’s Naked: Reflections on Gender, Urban Space, Affectsand Politics.” 4th Congress of Studies on the Middle East and Muslim Worlds, Aix-en-Provence, Jun. 28-30, 2021 (online) 18/05/2021: Book presentation In filigrana. Poesia arabo-americana scritta da donne. Centro Studi Americani, Roma, Ciclo #Opereprime 2020/2021 (online) 02/20/2019: “A ‘Poetics of Ruins’: Nadine Ltaif’s Ce que vous ne lirez pas.” Destruction/(Re-)construction. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cultural Heritage in Conflict. International Conference of the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA). Beirut, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2019. 19/06/2019: "An Accidental Canon: Rabih Alameddine's Contestation of the Canon." Workshop Conceptions and Configurations of the Arabic Literary Canon, Paris Columbia Global Center, Reid Hall, June 17-19, 2019. 27/09/2017: "Encroaching the Classics: Rabih Alameddine's An Unnecessary Woman." 24th AISNA Biennial Conference. Università degli Studi di Milano, Sept. 28-30, 2017. 29/05/2017: “Drawing an Alternative Geography and Adopting an Identity in Flux: The Case of Contemporary Arab Diasporic Women Poets.” 5th Colloquium of Middle East and North African Studies. University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu, May 29-31, 2017. 15/12/2016: “Emerging from the Darkness: Mina Boulhanna’s Africa and Immigrata.” 5th International Conference. Languages & Cultures in Contact. University of al-Jadida, Morocco, Dec. 14-16, 2016. 22/10/2016: "Mediatic and Poetic Dimensions of Migration: Is Dialogue Possible?" Migration und Medien. Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Oct. 20-22, 2016. 22/09/2016: "Frammenti di interfede nella poesia arabo-americana contemporanea. Una lettura contrappuntistica." Faith in Literature: Religione, Cultura e Identità negli Stati Uniti d'America. Università degli Studi di Perugia, Dipartimento di Lettere, Perugia, Sept. 22, 2016. 04/06/2016: "The Airport as a Site of Tensions: Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, Suheir Hammad, and Iman Mersal." International Graduate Conference 2016. Flows and Undercurrents: Dimensions of (Im)mobility in North America. JFK Institute, Free University, Berlin, Jun. 2-4, 2016. 14/01/2016: “Fragments of Power, Traces of Resistance: Rabih Alameddine’s An Unnecessary Woman.” CASAR 6th International Conference: Fragments of Empire After the American Century. AUB, Beirut, Jan. 13-16, 2016. 26/09/2015: “Poems ‘On the Road’”: A Journey Across America to Discover Some Hidden Facets of US Life.” 26th AISNA International Conference. Naples, University of Naples, Sept. 24-26, 2015. 05/04/2014: “Post-war Dilemmas: Trauma, Illness, and the Ethics of Medical Care in Rabih Alameddine’s Writing.” 2014 EAAS Conference "America: Justice, Conflict, War.” The Hague, The Netherlands, 3-6 April 2014. 21/02/2014: "Dis-equilibri: Il nodo genere-potere nella poesia araba diasporica." Districare il nodo genere-potere: sguradi interdisciplinari su politica, lavoro, sessualità e cultura. CSIG, University of Trento, 21-22 February 2014. 09/07/2013: “Double Exile: Hisham Matar’s In the Country of Men.” Migration: British Comparative Literature Association. XIII International conference. University of Essex, UK. 8-11 July 2013 06/04/2012: “Proving the Possibility of Interculturality: Leila Aboulela’s “The Museum” and The Translator.” “Other” Cultures Within: Beyond the Naming of Things. A Symposium at the John W. Kluge Center. Library of Congress, Washington D.C. 05/04/2012: “Creolization, Multiculturalism and Interculturality: A Conversation.” Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center, Howard University, Washington D.C. 28/10/2011: “Mapping Democracy and Dissent in Arab-American Literature.” 21st Biennial AISNA International Conference. University of Trento, Italy. 27-30 October 2011 10/02/2011: “Linguistic Play or Political Act? Multilingualism in Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Literature.” World Wide Women conference, CIRSDE, University of Torino, Italy. 10-12 February 2011 04/10/2010: “Multilingualism, Code-switching, and Linguistic Alienation in Arab Literature of the Diaspora.” Brown Bag Lunch Series, Institute for Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montréal, Québec. 04/06/2010: “Creating Bridges and Forging Hospitable Identities: The Challenge of Arab Women Writers in the Diaspora.” RAWI conference. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. June 3-5 2010.
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Other work |
Community-Based Creative Outreach Activities Nov. 17. 2022: Moderator for the play “The Crucible,” Teatro Sociale, Trento Sept. 3, 2019: SummerLab for children "Playing with Languages and Differences" (Giovanna Covi and Lisa Marchi), University of Trento Jun. 23, 2019: “The Thousand and One Night: A Musical Reading” with Lisa Marchi (recital voice) and Stefania Sept. 5, 2018: SummerLab for children "Playing with Languages and Differences" (Giovanna Covi and Lisa Marchi), University of Trento Sept. 11, 2017: Artistic performance on combating gender-based violence “Kintsugi: cicatrici preziose/Kintsugi: Aug. 12, 2017: Reading of Tabati (My ball – La mia palla), text by Nadine R. L. Touma, illustrations and typographical character Lara Assouad Khoury. Beirut: Dar Onboz. Premio Opera Prima Bologna Children’s Book Fair, 2012. Il Masetto, località Geroli, 38060 Piazza (TN). Feb. 24, 2017: Artistic performance “La felicità scivola tra le dita” by Abla Farhoud with Lisa Marchi (reading), Rosa Tapia (dance) and Margherita Vicentini (cello), Scuola Musicale Il Diapason, via Veneto 43, Trento Mar. 7, 2016: Artistic performance on The Thousand and One Nights with Lisa Marchi (reading) and Stefania Neonato (piano), Dip. Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trento Oct. 17, 2014: Artistic performance “Il cantastorie de André – Storia di una migrazione attraverso il Mediterraneo” with Lisa Marchi (poetry), the music band Apocrifi (Mediterranean repertoire of Fabrizio de André) and Rosa Tapia (dance), local detention center, Trento |