Arielle Saiber

Arielle Saiber is the Charles S. Singleton Professor of Italian Studies at Johns Hopkins University, leading the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. She specializes in Dante, medieval/Renaissance literature, and interdisciplinary studies at the intersection of literature, science, and music. Her research explores the interplay between premodern Italian literature and mathematical/scientific thought, early print history, and experimental electronic music. She has held prestigious fellowships at institutions like the Radcliffe Institute and Villa I Tatti, and her work has been recognized with awards including the Scaglione Publication Award and the Kendrick Book Prize.

Education: Ph.D. in Italian Literature from Yale University (1999), B.A. in Philosophy from Hampshire College (1993). She has authored three books, including Measured Words: Computation and Writing in Renaissance Italy, and co-edited special issues on topics like “Mathematics and the Imagination” and “Italian Science Fiction.”

Her current research focuses on “altered states of consciousness” in medieval/Renaissance Italian literature, alongside curating projects like the web archive Dante Today. She co-edits the Proximities book series with the University of Minnesota Press, emphasizing interdisciplinary nearness studies.

Awards and grants include the NEH Fellowship (2008-09), Radcliffe Fellowship (2003-04), and Karofsky Prize for teaching excellence at Bowdoin College. Her work bridges humanities and sciences, reflecting her commitment to exploring cultural intersections across disciplines.