Valentina Graziuso
Assistant Teaching Professor of Italian
Education
Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Master of Arts in Italian Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Master of Arts in Linguistics, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Cultural Mediation, L’Orientale University of Naples, Italy.
Biography
Valentina Graziuso is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Italian in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Notre Dame. Her interdisciplinary academic background reflects her broad interests in languages, linguistics, and literature, as well as her passion for teaching and cross-cultural exchange. Professor Graziuso conceives the language classroom as a dynamic laboratory for learning and discovery – a space where students can nourish both their intellect and imagination through meaningful group activities and interaction in the target language, while deepening their understanding of the target culture. Embracing a student-centered approach, her teaching promotes active participation, critical thinking, and collaborative learning, while fostering connections with the local community through activities that extend learning beyond the classroom, including experiential visits to museums, theaters, and cultural institutions. Striving to create a stimulating environment in which each student feels valued and supported, Professor Graziuso balances personalized attention to her students with a strong sense of collegiality.
Research Interests
Prior to joining the University of Notre Dame, Professor Graziuso pursued her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she specialized in Modern and Contemporary Italian literature, with a focus on Environmental Humanities, gender studies, and ecocriticism. Her interdisciplinary research fueled by posthumanist theory, ecofeminist theology and ecofeminism, examines how women writers reconceptualize the human–nature relationship through ethical and ecological lenses. More precisely, her current book project analyzes hybrid animal figures in Anna Maria Ortese’s novels to explore how literature can articulate non-human subjectivity and agency, while reconfiguring spiritual and philosophical concepts from a non-anthropocentric perspective. Professor Graziuso’s additional interests in these areas also informs her teaching, as she brings perspectives on sustainability and environmental issues that engage students to engage critically with contemporary ecological challenges.