Speakers:
Susan Antonelli received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations/Marketing Communications from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. After Simmons, Susan went on to earn her Master’s degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Susan has spent over twenty years working as a higher education administrator in the Boston area and has served as the Senior Student Affairs Officer at Wheelock College, Cambridge College, and currently at Simmons University. Susan has also worked in Residence Life, Student Leadership and Activities, Academic Advising, Accessibility Services, and Career Development. Susan is currently a doctoral candidate at Northeastern University and is working on her dissertation researching the college experience of ethnically-identified Italian-American students.
Alfred Crudale is a lecturer of Italian at Bridgewater State University. He graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Ph.D. in Medieval Italian Literature. The title of his dissertation is “Love and Civitas: Dante’s Ethical Journey in the Vita Nuova”. His essay entitled “Versi d’Amore e Prose di Romanzi: Are the Poets of the Dolce Stil Nuovo Still Relevant?” was published in the International Journal of the Humanities, and his latest essay, “Canzone…t’ho allevato per figliuola d’Amore: Three Songs of Love in Dante’s Vita Nuova,” was recently published in the Proceedings of the Dante and Music Conference. He is presently working on a book project, which examines the history of Italian language newspapers and radio programs in Rhode Island.
Michele M. Fabbro currently serves as the District Library/Literacy Coordinator at Indian Creek Local School District (Grades PreSchool through 12th grade.) Her responsibilities include supervision of the elementary, middle, and high school library programs, including student, parent, and community focused events. She is also responsible for course development in the language arts and fine arts departments.
Dr. Marina Melita is a Lecturer of Italian and the Italian Studies Coordinator at Marist College. She serves as one of two New York State representatives of the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI), as well as the co-chair of the AATI Advocacy Committee. Dr. Melita’s primary research is in Italian Women’s Theatre and Film Studies. This year, in addition to the IDEA Festival, Dr. Melita will be presenting at the ACTFL, MLA, and AATI/AAIS conferences on a range of topics including the future of Italian studies, the female voice in Italian literature, and the films of Lina Wertmuller and Liliana Cavani.
IDEA Boston is an Italian-inspired festival celebrating authors, books and culture, and organized by independent bookstore I AM Books, situated in Boston's North End neighborhood.
