Raffaella Malandrino

Raffaella Malandrino is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Sciences at the University of Catania, where she teaches Multiethnic American Literature and Transnational English at the Ragusa site (SDS Ragusa). She holds a national scientific qualification as a second-level professor in Anglo-American Languages and Literatures and has held academic positions at the University of Catania since 2012, progressing from contract lecturer to fixed-term researcher and now associate professor.

Her research focuses on postcolonial, diaspora, and transnational literary studies, with a particular emphasis on South and South Asian American literary cultures, gender studies, and authors such as Jhumpa Lahiri, Amitav Ghosh, and Louisa May Alcott. Her work explores themes of identity, cultural translation, migration, and the intersections of language and belonging.

The analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent scholarly engagement with transnational narratives, diasporic identity, and postcolonial critique. Her research often centers on Indian and South Asian American authors, examining how literature negotiates cultural hybridity, linguistic shifts, and historical memory. She frequently analyzes narrative structures of hospitality, liminality, and self-fashioning across borders, contributing significantly to comparative American studies and postcolonial literary theory.

• Borsa di Ricerca, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, Freie Universität, Berlin (2016)
• Mobility Grant, Italy/India Bilateral Agreement, University of Naples 'L’Orientale' (2008–2009)
• Summer School Scholarship, British Centre for Literary Translation, University of Cambridge (2003)
• Hindi Language Study Grant, DIFL-Dante Institute, Jaipur (2000)

Raffaella Malandrino has been actively involved in numerous research projects funded by the University of Catania, including studies on transnational intellectual networks and border narratives in South Asian American fiction. She has supervised academic activities and served on quality assurance committees. She also contributes to the scholarly community as a consulting editor for RSA Journal and a member of the editorial board of de genere, promoting interdisciplinary research in postcolonial and gender studies. Her work extends into collaborative international research and conference presentations across Europe.

She is a member of the interdisciplinary Gender Studies Center “GENUS” at the University of Catania and has participated in various professional development programs for academic staff. Her institutional service includes roles in curriculum quality assurance and academic governance within her department.