About
Rossella Di Rosa is the Italian Language Program Director and Lecturer in Foreign Languages (Italian) at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences. She holds a PhD in Italian from Rutgers University and a cum laude MA in Modern Languages and Intercultural Studies from the University of Siena. Her research bridges second language acquisition, critical/digital pedagogy, and modern Italian literature with a focus on ecocriticism, posthumanism, and women’s writing. She has published widely on authors like Leopardi, Ortese, Morante, and Ferrante, analyzing themes of nature, nonhuman agency, and gender subversion.
- Education: PhD Italian (Rutgers), MA Italian (Rutgers), MA Modern Languages (University of Siena), BA Foreign Languages (University of Siena)
Her teaching includes courses on Black Italy, advanced Italian language, and ecocritical studies. She co-authored influential papers on integrating AI in language education and social annotation tools. Her work often explores intersections between literary theory and pedagogical innovation.
Di Rosa has taught at Rutgers and the University of Georgia before joining UPenn. Her current office hours are Tuesdays 2-3pm and Thursdays 11am-12pm (Spring 2025).
