Cristina La Rosa

Cristina La Rosa is an Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Catania, Department of Humanities (DISUM), where she has been teaching Arabic language, literature, and dialectology in undergraduate and graduate programs since 2014.

Education and Academic Background:

• Current position: Associate Professor, University of Catania (since 2014)

Research Interests:
Cristina La Rosa specializes in the linguistic and literary history of Arabic, with a strong focus on regional varieties and comparative dialectology. Her work centers on:

• Historical development of Sicilian Arabic in relation to al-Andalus and Maltese
• The Arabic grammatical tradition in the Sicilian-Andalusian cultural sphere
• Dialectology and sociolinguistics of Tunisian Arabic
• Maghrebi folk and dialect poetry
• Discourse analysis in Arabic contexts

Publications and Scholarly Contributions:
She is the author of the monograph L’arabo di Sicilia nel contesto maghrebino: nuove prospettive di ricerca (2019), and has published extensively on her core research areas. While the full list of articles is not provided in the text, her research output is substantial and recognized in specialized academic circles.

Professional Affiliations and Service:

• Secretary, Società per gli Studi sul Medio Oriente (SeSaMO) (2017 – January 2020)
• Member, Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI)
• Member, Association Internationale de Dialectologie Arabe (AIDA)
• Member, Association Internationale sur le Moyen Arabe (AIMA)
• Member, Association Derja
• Member, Centro di ricerca per gli Studi sul Mondo Islamico Contemporaneo e l’Africa (CoSMICA)
• Member, Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Arabe de Sicile (GIRAS)
• Editorial Board Member, La Sicilia islamica: testi, ricerche letterarie e linguistiche (Istituto Per l’Oriente Carlo Alfonso Nallino)
• Editorial Board Member, I grandi libri della letteratura araba (Edizioni Ca’ Foscari)
• Editorial Board Member, Estudios de dialectología árabe (Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza)

Conferences, Projects, and Academic Leadership:
Dr. La Rosa has actively participated in and organized numerous international conferences. Notable collaborations include events with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2017) and Université Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle (2018). Since the 2016/2017 academic year, she has coordinated the university seminar series Conoscere il mondo islamico, promoting interdisciplinary dialogue on Islamic studies.