Academic Writing & Awards
The primary focus of my scholarly work is to develop innovative theories and practices for teaching, reading and writing, focusing on collaborative learning.
When writing about Italian American or Irish literature, most frequently the emphasis is on how students can explore these texts in rich and compelling ways.
Books and Articles
Here Comes Everybody: An Epistemic and Inclusive Approach to Teaching Ulysses Co-authored with Melissa Shofner. Pedagogy10.2(2010).
Changing Our Pedagogies to Meet a New Student Population: Creating Public and Purposeful Writing Assignments Sjunde nationella konferensen i Svenska med didaktisk inriktning (2010).
Reading Our Histories, Understanding Our Cultures Co-edited with Charles Lipka, Sherry Horton, et al. Longman (2003).
Pedagogical Possibilities: Working at Teaching-Oriented Institutions Profession (2003).
Closer than Close Reading Intertexts: Reading Pedagogy in College Writing Classrooms (2003).
Reading Lessons and Then Some: Critical Theory and the Teaching of Literature, Politics, Curriculum Pedagogy (1996).
The Culture of Reading and the Teaching of English Manchester UP and St. Martin’s (1994) Winner of the MLA Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize.
On a topic of your own choosing and with a clear personal position, use at least seven unbiased, accurate, and authoritative sources to write a balanced and objective paper that gives a complete picture of the subject you are investigating Writing and Critical Theory (1994).
Teaching, Studying, and Theorizing the Production and Reception of Literary Texts College Literature19(1992).
Reading-to-Write: Exploring a Cognitive and Social Process Co-authored with Linda Flower, Victoria Stein, John Ackerman, Margaret J. Kanz, and Wayne C. Peck. Oxford (1990).
Reading Texts Co-authored with Gary Waller and Linda Flower. D.C. Heath (1987).
Books and Articles on Italian American Arts and Literature
Introduction for Hard Candy by Annie Lanzillotto. Bordighera Press (2018).
Review Essay on Annie Lanzillotto Italian Americana 33.2 (2016).
City Moves in a ‘Feminine Key’ Essays on Italian American Literature and Culture (2012).
Teaching Italian American Literature, Film, and Popular Culture Co-edited with Edvige Giunta. Modern Language Association (2010).
Italian American Author Reviews
Whaddya Call the Wind by Annie Lanzillotto. The Patterson Review51 (2023).
Women Writing Cloth: Migratory Fictions in the American Imaginary by Mary Jo Bona. VIA: Voices in Italian Americana 31 (Fall 2020).
Giovanna’s 86 Circles and Other Stories by Paola Corso. Italian Americana27.1 (2009).
Crazy in the Kitchen: Food, Feuds, and Forgiveness in an Italian American Family by Louise DeSalvo. Italian Americana25.1 (2007).
Voices of the Soft-Bellied Warrior: A Memoir by Mary Saracino. Italian Americana22.1 (2004).
Writing with an Accent: Contemporary Italian American Women Authors by Edvige Giunta. MELUS: The Journal of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States28.3(2003).
Books and Articles on James Joyce
Here Comes Everybody: An Epistemic Approach to Teaching Ulysses in a Small College Co-authored with Melissa Shofner. Pedagogy 10.2(2010).
Reproducing Molly Bloom: A Revisionist History of the Reception of “Penelope” Molly Blooms: A Polylogue on “Penelope” and Cultural Studies U of Wisconsin Press (1994).
Approaches to Teaching Joyce’s Ulysses Co-edited with Erwin R. Steinberg. MLA (1993).
Ulysses, ‘Wandering Rocks,’ and the Reader Multiple Pleasures in Reading. Edwin Mellen (1991).
Just a Flash Like That: The Pleasure of ‘Cruising’ the Interpolations in ‘Wandering Rocks’ James Joyce Quarterly24.3 (1987).
Presentations
Panelist: Book Launch for Hard Candy by Annie Lanzillotto NYU/Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò.
Writing Satire, Anecdotal, and Hyperbolic Humor Florida Literary Arts Coalition Other Words Conference.
Keynote Speaker: In Other People’s Mouths: Nested Peer Mentoring for Collaboration in First-Year Writing Classes and Beyond University of Florida Writing Program Conference.
Panelist: A Roundtable Discussion of Mary Bucci Bush’s Sweet Hope Italian American Studies Association, NYC.
”An Odor of Corruption”: A Trilogy of Lectures on James Joyce’s Dubliners Purchase, NY.
Plenary Speaker: Code Switching in the Classroom: Using Cultural Studies and Epistemic Pedagogy “Polycode Communication: Linguistic, Cultural and Didactic Aspects.” St. Petersburg, Russia.
Book release/panel discussion: Teaching Italian American Literature, Film, and Popular Culture John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, CUNY; NYU/Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò.
Keynote Speaker: Changing Our Pedagogies to Meet a New Student Population: Creating Public and Purposeful Writing Assignments International Conference on Reading and Writing, Malmö, Sweden.
Honors and Distinctions
Golden Brick Honorary Alumni Award for non-alumni whose exemplary accomplishments, service, and commitment empowered Purchase students during their time at the university and after graduating (2026).
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Award to recognize outstanding Italian-American scholars for significant contributions to the profession and their community. Sons and Daughters of Italy New York State Grand Lodge Foundation (2019).
Purchase College First Annual Student Engagement Award (2008).
Purchase College Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to the Quality of Student Life (2004).
