I got my BA in Modern Languages and Cultures (English, Spanish, and German) from the University of Pavia, Italy, and my MA in Specialized Translation (English and Spanish) from IULM University in Milan. My MA thesis consisted of the translation of 10 chapters of Alexander McCall Smith’s novel The Charming Quirks of the Others, followed by an in-depth analysis of translation challenges – in my case, regional expressions (Scots), poems, nursery rhymes, and word plays.
At Indiana University I got my MA in Italian Studies, and during my graduate career I took courses on a broad variety of subjects concerning Italian literature and culture, and pedagogy. At Indiana University I discovered comics studies, and I have had several occasion to share my research at national and international conferences, such as the International Comic Arts Forum in April 2019, which led to the publication of my article “Popular Format and Auteur Format in Italian Comics. The Case of Magnus” in the International Journal of Comic Art.
From 2013 to 2017, I worked as an Associate Instructor of Italian, and I had the chance to teach several courses, from beginning to advanced levels, in traditional, hybrid, and online formats, on campus and abroad. In 2016 I was appointed Teaching Assistant of a literary criticism course on Detective Fiction, for which I led the discussion portion of three sections. In 2015 and 2017 I worked as Assistant to the Director of Language Instruction to help coordinate Italian classes, create online class materials, and direct the co-curricular events. In 2018-2019 I worked as a Visiting Lecturer in Italian. In fall 2018 I taught Elementary Italian I, Intermediate Italian II – a course that a team of IU instructors, included me, has developed from scratch and structured on Canvas – and an Advanced Conversation course through films. In Spring 2019, in addition to Intermediate Italian II, I designed and taught an Advanced Reading and Expression course titled “Comics and 20th century Italy: a Parallel History“, which paired the history of Italian comics and the most important events of 20th-century Italy.
In 2016-2018 I served as the Graduate Student Organization Representative for Italian Studies; I co-organized the 2017 French and Italian Graduate conference as well as the 2018 Professionalization Workshop. In fall 2017 and fall 2019 I also facilitated the French and Italian Dissertation Writing Group. For some years, I also managed the Instagram and Twitter accounts of the Italian Program at IU.
In February 2020 I organized the interdepartmental conference on comics, “Panels on Panels“, which brought together faculty and graduate students from across campus, with the aim of starting a conversation among scholars who conduct research and pursue creative activities related to the comics studies.
Sara Dallavalle, PhD 