Maria Vendetti

Maria Vendetti is an Associate Professor of Romance Languages - French and Director of Language Across the Curriculum at St. Olaf College. She is affiliated with programs in French, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Middle East Studies, and Race and Ethnic Studies.

Her research focuses on representations of torture in fiction related to the Algerian War of Independence. She explores 20th-century narratives of torture, trauma and memory theory, the interplay between fiction and ethics, and the literary and social legacies of colonial and postcolonial violence in the Maghreb and France. Her work bridges postcolonial studies, literary analysis, and ethical considerations in literature.

Outside academia, she enjoys hiking, dance parties, reading crime fiction, and discussing food.