Felice Italo Beneduce

Felice Italo Beneduce

Felice Italo Beneduce is Lecturer in the Department of Italian at Columbia University. His scholarly interests include the fantastic in contemporary Italian literature and cinema; Italian-American literature and cinema; Immigrant Literature in Italy; Cultural and Translation Studies; Primo Levi and Judaic Italian Studies; the phenomenon of return immigration to Italy; and Sequential Art. His current research examines how the trauma of anti-Semitism in Italian society between 1938 and 1998 was expressed in the fantastic literature of Jewish Italian authors such as Primo Levi and Antonio DeBenedetti.
Beneduce is a passionate teacher and feels his role to be as a bridge between the Italian, American and Italian-American cultures. To this extent, he conveys to his students - by means of a constant dialogue with them - the tradition of respect and a willingness to learn from the Other. His philosophy in teaching is grounded in the establishment of a connection with students that goes beyond the classroom, gladly devoting to them individual time and assistance.

In the past he has taught courses on Italian Romanticism, Neo-Realism, Theater, "The Italian/American Experience in Literature and Film", "The Women of the Decameron", "20th Century Jewish Italians as Historic and Literary Figures" and "The Italian Short Story of the 20th Century."

Prior to joining Columbia University, Beneduce taught Italian literature and cinema and Italian-American literature and cinema at Trinity College, the University of Connecticut, Brown University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University and the University of Rhode Island. He earned his Ph.D in Italian Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Connecticut where he earned his M.A. in the same field. He also holds a laurea in Italian/English Translation Studies from the University of Trieste (Italy).

Publications

Books:

Beneduce, Felice Italo et al. Dizionario del Mondo Fantastico - universo di J.R.R. Tolkien dalla A alla Z, 2° Ed. Milan: Bompiani, 2004.

Articles:

Beneduce, Felice Italo. Review of S.C. Gordon, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Primo Levi Cambridge, Italian Culture (forthcoming 2008).

Beneduce, Felice Italo. Review of Stefano Luconi, The Italian-American Vote on Providence, Rhode Island, 1916-1948." Journal of Modern Italian Studies 11.3 (2006): 422-425.

Beneduce, Felice Italo. "Mauro Mortara, Anima Insulae Pirandelliana." Romance Review, XIV (2004): 30-45.

Beneduce, Felice Italo. "The Deliverance of Prostitutes in DeSica." The Image of the Hero: Selected Papers - 2004
Conference, Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, Will Wright and Stephen Kaplan, eds. (Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, 2004): 69-73. Beneduce, Felice Italo. Review of Michael Miller Topp, Those Without a Country, Italian Culture 22 (2004): 192-196.

Beneduce, Felice Italo. "The City of Marcovaldo: An Arcadian Escape." The Image of the City: Selected Papers - 2003 Conference, Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, Will Wright and Stephen Kaplan, eds. (Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, 2003): 233-239.

Translations:

Beneduce, Felice Italo. Consolo, Vincenzo. "Sicily and Arab Culture," "Ibn Jubayr," "Palermo, Most Beautiful and Defeated," and "The Bridge Over the Channel of Sicily." Reading and Writing the Mediterranean (Toronto UP, 2006) 227-232.

 

Courses Taught