Marguerite Waller

Dr. Marguerite Waller is Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature and Chair of the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Riverside. Her scholarship integrates Renaissance literature, transnational feminism, film/media studies, and globalization theory.

Research examines feminist responses to globalization, postcolonial film, and human rights discourses. She has developed frameworks for transnational feminist dialogue through edited volumes including Dialogue and Difference: Feminisms Challenge Globalization and The Wages of Empire: Neoliberal Policies, Resistance, and Women’s Poverty.

Film scholarship analyzes postcolonial cinema and media representations of conflict zones, with particular attention to Eastern European filmmakers and border art. Recent publications explore sovereignty, migration, and feminist protest in cinematic narratives.

Awards include multiple Fulbright appointments (Italy, France, Hungary) and residency fellowships at the University of California Humanities Research Institute. She has directed the U.C. Rome Study Center and participated in border art collectives like Las Comadres in the San Diego/Tijuana region.