The Department of Italian is delighted to announce that Wissia Fiorucci has been awarded a PhD in Italian, under the supervision of Professor Lorenzo Chiesa, with a thesis entitled ‘Elements of Magic(al) Realism: Deledda, Bontempelli, Banti’.
In her thesis, Wissia demonstrates the presence of magic(al) realism in the works of the Italian authors Grazia Deledda (1871-1936), Massimo Bontempelli (1878-1960), and Anna Banti (1895-1985), within the respectively different socio-historical contexts in which these authors were writing. The thesis concentrates on elements of magic(al) realism that unveil a prevalent concern with the tension that exists between oppressive forms of power and individual freedom.
Wissia has previously also been awarded an MA by Research in Italian by Kent. Her MA thesis was published as Anna Banti and the (Im)possibility of Love (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010).
In 2008, Wissia also co-founded the international, peer-reviewed journal Skepsi, and has organised several postgraduate interdisciplinary conferences with the journal editorial team. She was also chief organiser of the Italian International conferences ‘Representations of Gendered Violence in Contemporary Italy’ (which featured the participation of renowned author Dacia Maraini), and ‘Representations of Organised Crime in Italy and Beyond’, with a keynote speech given by the prominent mafia expert Marcello Ravveduto. Wissia is currently translating a book by Cesare Romano, which will be published by Karnac in 2014.
All the in the School of European Culture and Languages would like to extend their congratulations to Dr Fiorucci.