RUOCCO Monica

- Full Professor at the Università degli studi di Napoli L'Orientale
- Professore Associato at the Università degli studi di Napoli L'Orientale where she is professor of Arabic Language and Literature for graduated and post-graduated students.
- "Professore Associato" at the Faculty of "Lettere e Filosofia" of the University of Palermo.
- “Ricercatore” at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Lecce, where she is professor of Arabic Language and Literature for graduated and post-graduated students.
- “Cercheur associé” in the reesearch board EA 1734 (Etudes arabes et Orient contemporain) at the “Université Paris III” (Sorbonne Nouvelle) since 2003.
- Member of the directive Council and representative for Italy of the European Association for the Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL) dal 2005.
- Participation at conferences in Italy, Europe and in the Arab world.

EDUCATION:
- Post-graduate biannual grant for a research about: “Recent trends in Modern Arabic Literary Criticism” at the Istituto Universitario Orientale (Naples) (1996-1998).
- Ph.D. in “Studies on Middle East and Maghreb” with a thesis about “Politica, cultura letteratura: per una definizione dell'intellettuale arabo. L'esempio della rivista al-Adab (1953-1986)” (Politics, Culture, Literature: a Definition of the Arab Intellectual through the lebanese review al-Adab (1953-1986). (22/12/1994).
- Certificate of “Preparation to Research in Arabic Language” (Institut Français d’Etudes Arabes de Damas - I.F.E.A.D) (1994).
- Certificate of Literary Arabic and Arabic-French/French-Arabic Translation (Université Paris III - La Sorbonne Nouvelle) (1991).
- Diploma of Arabic and Islamic Studies (Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e di Islamistica - Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Rome) (1991).
- Diploma of Arabic Language by the “Institute of Arabic Language for Foreigners” of Damascus (1989).
- MA in “Lingue e Letterature Straniere Moderne” (Foreign Modern Languages and Literatures: Arabic), 110/110 cum laude (Istituto Universitario Orientale – Naples) (1988).
- Diploma of Arabic Language by the University of Ayn Shams (Cairo) (1987).

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES
2024 Coordinator of the “DAAM Artistic Lab” project, part of the Public Engagement initiatives of the Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies (DAAM), University of Naples L’Orientale (Unior). These initiatives include one-off and ongoing events and activities aimed at engaging audiences beyond the university community, disseminating knowledge and promoting cultural initiatives in the local area.
Since 2021 Member of the jury for the Mediterranean Poetry Prize.
Since 2016–17 Member of the Technical Jury for the Premio Napoli, administered by the Fondazione Premio Napoli. Technical Jury
2020–2023 President of SeSaMO Italia (Italian Society for Middle Eastern Studies). Website
2021 Reviewer of research outputs for the 2015–2019 Research Quality Assessment (VQR), on behalf of ANVUR.
2018–2022 President of the European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL).
2020 Shortlisted for the Fondazione Bottari Lattes Biennial Translation Prize for the translation of ʿAlī Badr’s novel Il suonatore di nuvole (Argo, Lecce, 2017).
2016 Awarded the 2015 National Translation Prize by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism – Directorate-General for Libraries and Cultural Institutions.
2016 Reviewer of research outputs for the 2011–2014 Research Quality Assessment (VQR), on behalf of ANVUR.
2014 Reviewer of research outputs for the 2014 Scientific Independence of Young Researchers programme (SIR).
2014 Awarded the Italian National Scientific Qualification for a full professorship in disciplinary field 10/N1: Cultures of the Ancient Near East, the Middle East and Africa (2012 call, Ministerial Decree no. 222/2012; qualification valid from 18 February 2014 to 18 February 2020).
2013 Awarded Threshold 3, the highest level, and designated an “active researcher” in the assessment of research output for 2008–2012, conducted by the Scientific Committee for Area 10 – Antiquities, Philological and Literary Studies, and Art History at the University of Palermo.
 Reviewer of research outputs for the 2004–2010 Research Quality Assessment (VQR), on behalf of ANVUR.
2011 Awarded Threshold 3, the highest level, and designated an “active researcher” in the assessment of research output for 2006–2010, conducted by the Scientific Committee for Area 10 – Antiquities, Philological and Literary Studies, and Art History at the University of Palermo.
2012–2013 Member of the Academic Board of the PhD programme in “Greek and Latin Philology and Culture and the History of the Ancient Mediterranean” at the University of Palermo (29th cycle).
2008–2012 Member of the Academic Board of the PhD programme in “History of Sicily and the Ancient Mediterranean” at the University of Palermo.
2004–2007 Member of the Academic Board of the PhD programme in “Linguistic, Literary and Cultural Studies” (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and Department of Philology, Linguistics and Literature) at the University of Lecce.
Since 2003 Chercheur associé with research group EA 1734, “Études arabes et Orient contemporain,” at Université Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle).
1994 Scholarly consultant for the preparation of volumes on the history of Arabic medicine published by the Institute of the History of Medicine at Sapienza University of Rome for the journal Medicina nei Secoli.
1994–2009 Editorial staff member of Oriente Moderno, the scholarly journal published by the “C. A. Nallino” Institute for the East in Rome.
1994–2000 Contributor to the European Union’s Forum for Intercultural Dialogue project, organised by Caritas Rome. Activities included training courses for teachers and students at lower and upper secondary schools.
1989–1990 Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship for a year of study in Damascus, attending Arabic-language courses.
1986–1987 Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarship for a six-month period of study in Cairo.

 Reviewer for Italian and international scholarly journals.

RESEARCH PROJECTS
2022–2025 Participant in the University Research Project (PRA) “Mediterranean Archives of Memory – ALMAMED” (Principal Investigator: C. Vecce, University of Naples L’Orientale).
Since 2022 Member of GRITUM (Research Group on Italians in Tunisia and the Mediterranean), Fondazione Valenzi ETS.
2021–2023 Member of the international project “Houdoud/Frontières: La fertilisation des savoirs à l’université par la rencontre entre l’art et la recherche: pour une meilleure inclusivité citoyenne” (Université Bordeaux Montaigne and University of Rabat).
2017–2018 “Writer-Travellers in Contemporary Arabic Literature” (University Research Funds – Individual Research, University of Naples L’Orientale).
2014–2017 “Redefining the Mediterranean Geographical and Cultural Imagination in the Travel Accounts of Contemporary Arab Authors” (University Research Funds – Collaborative Research, University of Naples L’Orientale).
2012–2013 “Places of Memory and the Construction of Identity in the Modern and Contemporary Arab-Islamic World: Historiography, Philology and Literature” (ex-60% research project, University of Palermo).
2007–2008 Participant in the project “Public and Private Spaces, and Places of Memory in Mediterranean, Near Eastern and Middle Eastern Cities: Historical Narratives and Intersecting Perspectives from Past to Present” (Ordinary Innovative Projects, University of Palermo).
2007 Awarded university research funding (ex-60% scheme) for the project “The Development of Performance and Dramatic Literature in the Arab World.”
2006 Awarded university research funding (ex-60% scheme) for the project “The Development of Dramatic Literature and Performance in the Arab World since the Nineteenth-Century Nahḍah.”
 Coordinator of the project “Peace Perspectives: Encounters between the Cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean,” University of Lecce and Apulia Region (Lecce, 3–4 May 2007).
2005–2006 PRIN project “Epic and Chivalric Traditions and Motifs in Eastern Cultures,” University of Naples “L’Orientale” (six person-months).
2003–2004 The Ibn Ishaq Translation Programme, coordinated by UNESCO’s Culture Sector, Division of Arts and Cultural Enterprise.
Since 2003 Member of the Association pour la promotion de la littérature arabe moderne (APLAM), coordinated by Université Paris III – Sorbonne Nouvelle.
2002–2003 Italian-Arabic Bilingual Corpus, part of the “Linguistics” Operational Programme, Cluster 18, of the Ministry of Universities and Scientific and Technological Research (MURST), administered by the Department of Asian Studies at the Istituto Universitario Orientale in Naples.
1997–1998 “Conflicts and Cultures of the Mediterranean,” a project organised by the Forum for Peace and War Issues, Department of Political Science, University of Florence.
1994–1997 “Directory of Contemporary Arab Writers,” research conducted by I. Camera d’Afflitto with support from the National Research Council (CNR).

MEMBERSHIP OF SCIENTIFIC AND EDITORIAL COMMITTEES FOR CONFERENCES, JOURNALS, PUBLISHING SERIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND ESSAYS
2027 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Regards croisés: L’Italie vue par le monde arabe et le monde arabe vu par l’Italie” (University of Palermo, 23–25 June).
2026 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Scènes arabes en festivals” (Université Lyon 2, 16–17 June).
 Member of the Scientific Committee for a special issue of Regards (AUB) on “(Re)constructing the Field of Iraqi Theatre Studies: Histories, Institutions, Circulations.”
2024 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Créations et arts au prisme de la redéfinition de l’engagement: de l’Europe à ses marges, des marges à l’Europe” (Université de Lorraine, Nancy, 26–27 September).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Histoire de l’émergence d’un théâtre arabe en marge de l’Europe” (Université de Lorraine, Nancy, 28–29 November).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Les diasporas du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient et les arts du spectacle en Europe” (Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 8–10 April).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Les Italien.ne.s au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord (1861–1950): entre migrations et construction d’une identité italienne” (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, 7 November).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the Translation Series, LILEC, University of Bologna.
Since 2023 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Échanges, pouvoir(s) et médiations: La mondialisation des champs culturels au-delà des centres et des périphéries” (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, IREMAM, GIS-ASIE, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University and Université Lumière Lyon 2, 19–20 June).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Créations artistiques arabes ou réinvention du concept de l’engagement” (Université de Lorraine, Nancy, 30 November–1 December). Co-editor, with Professor Sciortino (University of Palermo), of the “Contemporary Arabic Literature of the Gulf” series.
2022 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Farah Antun, a 100 anni dalla sua morte” (University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, October 2022).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference on “Habib Tengour, du projet anthropo-sociologique au projet poétique. Surréalisme et imaginaire d’une société multiculturelle et ouverte à l’Autre. Réécriture du réel et poétique inter-/intra-textuelle” (Université de Lorraine, October 2022).
 Member of the committee for the Ebru Timtik Award (Palermo, 17–19 June).
Since 2021 Editor of the “Nuove Terre” series, Terra Somnia publishing house (Caserta–Tricase).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the “A EstOvest” series, edited by Rosita D’Amora and Samuela Pagani (L’Aquila, Textus Editore).
Since 2020 Member of the Scientific Committee of the “Traduzioni, studi e ricerche sulla nahḍah” series, edited by Isabella Camera d’Afflitto (Rome, IPO C. A. Nallino; ISSN 2282-815X).
2020 Member of the Scientific Committee for the edited volume Z. Makach and O. Fertat (eds.), Du texte à la scène: quels enjeux pour les écritures contemporaines? (Agadir, Festival International du Théâtre Universitaire d’Agadir [FITUA], Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Les représentations paysagères dans les littératures du monde arabe et du Proche-Orient” (Paris, Centre de recherche Moyen-Orient Méditerranée [CERMOM], Inalco, November).
2019 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Femmes engagées au cœur de l’action. Mise en récit(s), mise en image(s)” (Université de Lorraine, Nancy, 4–5 April).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Humour et politique dans l’espace arabe de la nahda à aujourd’hui” (Université de Lorraine, Nancy, 5–6 December).
Since 2019 Editor of the “Literatures of the Islamic World” series (IPO C. A. Nallino, Rome).
 Co-editor, with Michele Bernardini, of the Translation Workshop series (DAAM, University of Naples L’Orientale).
2018 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Écrire pour le théâtre au Liban: états des lieux et perspectives” (USEK, Lebanon, 27–28 November).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Les arts du spectacle arabes au féminin” (Université Bordeaux Montaigne, 23–25 October).
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Poétique du récit migratoire” (ERIMIT [EA 4327], Université Rennes 2, 18–19 October).
Since 2018 Member of the Scientific Committee of the “Itinerari di Culture – Studies and Research in Languages, Discourses and Migrant Cultures” series, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli.
 Member of the Scientific Committee of the Transcultural Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Badr University in Cairo, Egypt.
 Reviewer for Regards, published by the Institute of Scenic, Audiovisual and Cinematographic Studies (IESAV), Saint Joseph University of Beirut (USJ), Lebanon.
2016 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Interfaith Love: Love, Sex and Marriage in the Islamicate World from the Middle Ages to the Present” (Leiden, 22–24 June).
Since 2016 Deputy Editor of Arablit, a scholarly journal published by the C. A. Nallino Institute for the East, Rome. Journal website
2015 Member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference “Le langage des émotions: le vertige de l’excès” (Department of Literary, Linguistic and Comparative Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, 16–19 October).
2011–2018 Member of the Scientific Committee of La rivista di Arablit, edited by Isabella Camera d’Afflitto (Sapienza University of Rome). Journal website
2009 Member of the Scientific Committee for I. Camera d’Afflitto (ed.), Lo Yemen raccontato dalle scrittrici e dagli scrittori, proceedings of the international conference organised by the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Sapienza University of Rome (Rome, 6–8 May 2009), Rome, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Sapienza University of Rome/Libreria Orientale, 2010.
2002–2007 Member of the Scientific Committee, coordinated by Université Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle, for the preparation of Histoire de la littérature arabe moderne. 1800–1945, edited by B. Hallaq and H. Toelle, vol. 1 (Paris, Actes Sud, “La Bibliothèque arabe” series, 2007).
1995–2009 Member of the Editorial Board of Oriente Moderno, a scholarly journal published by the C. A. Nallino Institute for the East, Rome.

TEACHING AND RESEARCH APPOINTMENTS AT UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS ABROAD AND AT INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS; CONFERENCE ORGANISATION
2023 Organised, with A. Bianco (Cassini Programme), the international study days “Disséminations: le théâtre (en) arabe à l’heure des migrations globales” (DAAM, 4 July).
 Member of the doctoral examination committee at Université Lumière Lyon 2 (Doctoral School No. 484, Letters, Languages, Linguistics and Arts; doctoral discipline: Arts – Visual Arts, Performing Arts and Music) for the defence of Astrid Chabrat Kajdan’s thesis, “Quand le théâtre écrit la question de Palestine: Enjeux des processus de (co)création européo-palestiniens” (24 November).
 Supervisor of Samira Abdelati’s doctoral thesis, “Phonetics, Phonology, Morphosyntax and Lexicon of Spoken Arabic in the City of Mohammedia: An Analysis of Transgenerational Linguistic Variation” (PhD programme in Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale).
 Organised the “Ateliers de Réflexion de Synthèse et de Montage” study days as part of the “Houdoud – Art et Recherche” project (Université Bordeaux Montaigne, University of Rabat and Unior, 7–9 February).
2022–2023 Joint doctoral supervisor, with Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, of Maeva Meyer’s thesis, “Une scène égyptienne sous influence? Présence, réception et réappropriation des formes spectaculaires italiennes dans l’Égypte de la Nahda (1830–1920)” (University of Naples L’Orientale).
2022 Member of the doctoral examination committee at Université de La Manouba (Tunis), PhD in Italian Language, Literature and Civilisation, for Hanen Tallouli’s thesis, “Echi del mondo arabo musulmano nel Decameron di Giovanni Boccaccio” (24 January).
 Member of the doctoral examination committee at the Autonomous University of Madrid (PhD Programme in Human Sciences: Geography, Anthropology, and African and Asian Studies) for Ana González Navarro’s thesis, “Escritura y feminismo en Marruecos: historia, debates y genealogías. Una aproximación desde la crítica literaria y la literatura” (7 July).
 Member of the doctoral examination committee at Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, for Annamaria Bianco’s thesis, “Adab al-malǧa’: la représentation du réfugié dans le roman arabe du XXIe siècle,” jointly supervised with the University of Naples L’Orientale (9 December).
 Member of the doctoral examination committee at Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (Doctoral School No. 484, Letters, Languages, Linguistics and Arts; doctoral discipline: Arabic and Islamic Studies) for the defence of Kecili’s thesis, “Difficultés dans la traduction du théâtre politique arabe vers le français: l’exemple du théâtre de Saad Allah Wannous” (1 December).
2021–2022 Joint doctoral supervisor, with INALCO (Paris), of Greta Sala’s thesis, “L’affirmation de l’individu au sein du roman syrien d’après 2000: entre quête, crise et (re)construction de l’identité” (University of Naples L’Orientale).
2021 Taught 18 hours in the Master’s programme in Literary Translation as part of the Master’s Programme for Translators project (May–June 2021), Sapienza University of Rome.
2020–2021 Joint doctoral supervisor, with Université Lyon 2, of Antonio Pacifico’s thesis, “Littérature et (ré)écriture de l’histoire nationale: le cas du champ littéraire irakien depuis 1991” (University of Naples L’Orientale).
2019 Supervisor of Caterina Pinto’s doctoral thesis, “Dyslexia in Learning Arabic as a Foreign Language: Analysis, Strategies and Resources for Inclusive University Teaching” (PhD programme in Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale).
 Joint doctoral supervisor, with Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, of Annamaria Bianco’s thesis, “Adab al-malǧa’: la représentation du réfugié dans le roman arabe du XXIe siècle” (University of Naples L’Orientale).
2018 Supervisor of Manuel Capomaccio’s thesis, “Il Bulūġ al-ʿarab fī ʿilm al-ʿadab, la chiave d’accesso alla poetica del Dīwān: per un’analisi retorico-letteraria della silloge di Ğirmānūs ibn Farḥāt” (PhD programme in Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale).
 Organised the 13th EURAMAL International Conference, “Fiction and History: The Rebirth of the Historical Novel in Arabic” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 28 May–1 June).
2016 Visiting Professor at Université de Tunis La Manouba, where she taught a course on research methodology (28 November–2 December).
 Organised, with M. Cassarino (University of Catania), the panel “Narrare le migrazioni: sentimenti, spazi e tempi della dislocazione nella letteratura araba” at the 13th annual conference of SeSaMO (Italian Society for Middle Eastern Studies), “Migranti: comunità, frontiere, memorie e conflitti” (Catania, 17–19 March).
2014 Organised the international conference “Gli studi sulla lingua araba e la cultura egiziana all’Orientale di Napoli” (16 December).
Since 2013–2014 Joint doctoral supervisor, with INALCO (National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations), Paris, of Daniela Potenza’s thesis, “L’écriture dramaturgique d’Alfred Farağ entre théâtre documentaire et réinvestissement patrimonial” (University of Naples L’Orientale).
Since 2011–2012 Co-supervisor of Gianluca Saitta’s doctoral thesis, “La maqâma au Yémen: essor d’un genre littéraire depuis l’époque pré-moderne (XVIe–XXe siècles)” (INALCO, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations, Paris).
2006 Member of the doctoral examination committee at INALCO (National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations), Paris, for the defence of Abourachid’s thesis, “La revue libanaise Shi’r et l’une de ses figures: Ounsi el-Hage. Catalogage et analyse de contenu de la revue Shi’r et étude de l’œuvre poétique de Ounsi el-Hage” (9 December 2006).
2004 Organised the conference “Peace and War in the Middle East in the Modern and Contemporary Period” (University of Lecce, Society for Middle Eastern Studies, SeSaMO) (Lecce, 18–20 November).
Since 2003 Chercheur associé with research group EA 1734 (“Études arabes et Orient contemporain”) at Université Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle).
1998 Field research grant from the Centre d’Études en Sciences Humaines et Sociales (CESHS, formerly IRMC), Rabat, Morocco.
1993 Admitted to and participated in the doctoral programme “Cycle doctoral, École Contacts et échanges culturels en Méditerranée” of the Communauté des Universités méditerranéennes, held at Université de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France.

MEMBERSHIPS
Since 2024 Member of the Arabic Comparative Literature Research Group, a section of the International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA).
Since 2015 Member of the Italian Association for Comparative Studies in Literature (COMPALIT).
2013–2016 Representative for Italy of the European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL).
2005–2012 Member of the Board of the European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL).
2003–2008 Representative for Italy of the European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL).
2001–2007 Member of the Board of the Italian Society for Middle Eastern Studies (SeSaMO).
Since 1997 Member of EURAMAL (European Association for the Study of Modern Arabic Literature).
  Member of the European Union of Arabists and Islamicists (UEAI).
  Member of SeSaMO (Italian Society for Middle Eastern Studies).
Since 1994 Member of the “C. A. Nallino” Institute for the East, Rome.

OTHER TEACHING ACTIVITIES (PAST 10 YEARS)
2026 Taught a class on “Theatre and Intercultural Mediation: Experiences of (in) Arabic Theatre” as part of the Master’s programme in Intercultural Mediation (University of Naples L’Orientale, 7 March).
2025 Lecture on “War Crimes in Arabic Literature” as part of the course History and Rights (University of Varese, 24 November).
 Doctoral seminar lecture on “Between Travel and Reportage: Reflections on Literary Genres in Contemporary Arabic Writing” (PhD programme in Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, 1 December).
 Contribution to the seminar “Maps, Letters and Travel Writing” (ALMAMED University Research Project, University of Naples L’Orientale, in collaboration with Mohammed V University in Rabat), with a talk on “Morocco in Italian Arab Studies: History and Perspectives” (Rabat, 19 November).
 Taught a class on “Theatre and Intercultural Mediation: Experiences of (in) Arabic Theatre” as part of the Master’s programme in Intercultural Mediation (University of Naples L’Orientale, 8 February).
2024 Lecture on “Archives, Memory and the History of the Performing Arts in the Mediterranean: The Memoirs of Yusuf Wahbi” at the “Living Memory: Archives of Literature, Memory and the Arts” seminar (Alma-Unior Research Centre, State Archives of Naples, 18 April).
2023 Doctoral seminar lecture on “Between Alien Invasions and Nostalgia for the Past: The Futuristic Baghdad Imagined by Iraqi Writers,” as part of the training activities of the PhD programme in Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, Workshop “BAGHDAD 756–2023” (Department of Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean, University of Naples L’Orientale, 16 March).
 Lecture on “‘The Song of Sawdān’: The Last Emir of Italy in a Recent Egyptian Novel” at the Summer School “Reading the Mediterranean: Maps, Islands and Borders” (University of Naples L’Orientale, Sardinian Publishers’ Association, Mediterranea Literary Festival) (Alghero, 14 July).
2021 Lecture on “Representations of Plague, Cholera and Pandemics in Contemporary Arabic Literature” at the seminar “Narrating Crisis, Changing History: The Islamic World in the Face of Pandemics and Natural Disasters” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 29 January).
2019 Lecture on “Redefining the Mediterranean Geographical and Cultural Imagination: Exile as a Paradigm of Identity” at the Summer School “Reading the Mediterranean: Narratives, Routes, Images” (University of Naples L’Orientale) (Procida, 24–27 July).
2017–2018 Doctoral seminar lecture on “Urban Representations in Contemporary Arabic Fiction,” as part of the training activities of the PhD programme in Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies (Department of Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean, University of Naples L’Orientale, 26 June).

CONFERENCES
2026 Presented a paper at the international conference “International Year of Ibn Rushd/Averroes: An Opportunity for Reason,” organised by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the Muslim World League (MWL) and Espacio Tierra Creativa: “Averroes Across Worlds: Ibn Rushd’s Literary Afterlives in Italian and Arabic and the Promise of Dialogue” (Córdoba, 9–11 November).
 Participated in the 9th International Festival of the Arabic Language and Culture, “The Arabic Weave in the Fabric of European Literature,” with a paper entitled “‘Out beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a vast field. I’ll meet you there’” (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Arabic Cultural Institute, Sharjah Book Authority, 18 April).
2025 Presented a paper at the international conference Les représentations de l’islam dans les littératures européennes, organised by the Académie Royale du Maroc, Chaire des Littératures Comparées: Représenter l’Islam dans la littérature italienne: de la fiction coloniale aux voix des nouveaux Italiens (Rabat, 20–21 November).
 Presented a paper at the Exploratory Workshop Feeling the Heat: Environmental Labour and Care in the MENA Region: “Muhammad al-Makhzanji as Pioneer of Environmental Literature” (University of Oslo and University of Naples L’Orientale, 24–26 February).
2024 Presented a paper at the doctoral conference Espèces d’espaces: lo spazio come lente di analisi (r)esistenziale: “Spazi di resistenza o di sopravvivenza? Il teatro arabo in contesti di guerra” (DSUS, University of Naples L’Orientale, Palazzo Du Mesnil, 12 December).
 Presented a paper at the 15th EURAMAL Conference, Ecocritical Approaches and Environmental Issues in Modern Arabic Literature: “‘We are vain beings, and only humility will save us’: Muhammad al-Makhzanji’s Project for an Environmental Literature” (Charles University, Prague, 27–31 May).
 Presented a paper at the study day Il Mediterraneo e oltre: “L’eredità perduta del Mediterraneo. Contatti culturali in una prospettiva di lunga durata” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 24 May).
 Presented a paper at the international study day Archives de la mémoire de la Méditerranée: histoire et perspectives de valorisation: “Archives, mémoires et histoire des arts du spectacle dans l’espace méditerranéen” (Archives du Maroc, Rabat, 2 May).
2023 Respondent in Themed Session II, Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera Far From Europe, at the 5th Transnational Opera Studies Conference – Tosc@ Lisboa 2023; presented “Italian Opera in Arab Countries” (Lisbon, 6–8 July).
2022 Presented a paper at the conference Ponti, esili e migrazioni/Bridges, Exiles, Migrations: “Un’avventura mediterranea: Elisa Chimenti intellettuale e scrittrice” (Department of Literary, Linguistic and Comparative Studies, University of Naples L’Orientale, Palazzo Du Mesnil, 18–19 October).
 Presented a paper at the 14th EURAMAL Conference, Arab Refugee Literature: New Poetics and Perspectives: “From Ancient Myth to Modern Migration: The Question of Refugees in ‘IMedea’ by Sulayman Al Bassam” (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” 6–8 June).
 Presented a paper at the international conference Houdoud 2: Héritages et représentations: “La nouvelle dramaturgie arabe sur la scène théâtrale et académique” (University of Bordeaux, 25–28 April).
2021 Presented a paper at the international conference Mise en scène, adaptations et réécritures de la tragédie grecque au Moyen-Orient: “Le retour aux sources: pour une ‘découverte’ de la tragédie grecque à l’époque de la Nahda” (MSH Clermont-Ferrand, 15 October).
 Presented a paper at the study day Nawal al-Saadawi: il potere morbido dell’arte: “L’opera letteraria di Nawaal al-Sadawi” (IULM University, 12 April).
 Presented a paper at the study day Foundation and Trans/Formations of Arabic Literary Theory: Prospect and Limits, organised by the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University: “Is rihla Still a Genre in Contemporary Arabic Literature?” (Columbia University, 19 March).
2019 Presented a paper at the study days Il Giallo tra Oriente e Occidente: “Gialli nella Cairo moderna” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 8 May).
2018 Presented a paper at the conference Saramago, un Nobel tante lingue: “Ensaio sobre a cegueira in lingua araba: scelte traduttive e sensibilità comuni” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 6–7 December).
 Presented a paper at the Giornate di studio in memoria di Agostino Cilardo: “Relazioni proibite e amore romantico in Yawm al-Dīn di Rashā al-Amīr” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 26–29 November).
 Presented a paper at the 13th EURAMAL International Conference, Fiction and History: The Rebirth of the Historical Novel in Arabic: “‘Abd al-Rahman Munif et le renouvellement du roman historique arabe” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 28 May–1 June).
 Presented a paper at the Study Day on Saudi Fiction: “L’idea di confine nel romanzo saudita” (Sapienza University of Rome, 13 March).
2017 Delivered lectures entitled “Teatro e Primavere arabe” and “Dalla filologia alla politica nell’opera di Sa’d Allah Wannus” as part of the seminar Duecento anni di Teatro Arabo (University of Cagliari, 7–8 May).
 Presented a paper at the GIS 2017 Congress: “Quand Fatima se fait appeler Sophie: Vengeance et délire identitaire dans le roman al-Kāfira de Ali Badr” (INALCO, Paris, 5–7 July).
 Delivered a lecture entitled “Teatro arabo mediterraneo e l’apporto del teatro arabo in Europa” (IULM University, Milan, 20 April).
 Presented a paper at the study day Memoria e politica nell’Egitto Contemporaneo: “Dissoluzioni urbane: il romanzo egiziano post 25/1” (University of Salento, 7 April).
 Presented a paper at the conference Dai colonialismi al diritto di breve ritiri: la sfida del Nord Africa e del Medio Oriente: “Memoria creativa: spazi di discussione e pratiche culturali nella Siria post 2011” (University of Naples L’Orientale, 23–24 March).
 Presented a paper at the international conference Le temps de l’attente. États d’âme, désirs, inquiétudes dans les cultures et littératures environnantes: Islam et monde arabe: “L’attesa come esercizio del potere in Al-Tabur (2013) di Basma ‘Abd al-‘Aziz” (University of Palermo, 30 May–1 June).
 Presented a paper at the international conference Théâtre, autocraties et démocraties: “De la philologie à la démocratie dans l’œuvre de Saadallah Wannous” (USEK, Beirut, 30–31 March).
2016 Presented a paper at the international conference “Les dramaturgies arabes et l’Occident. Contact, circulation et transfert” at Université Bordeaux Montaigne: Le théâtre arabe en exil: quand la guerre monte sur scène (Bordeaux, 10–12 October).
 Presented a paper at the 28th Congress of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI), Re-defining Spaces of Encounter. Islam and Mediterranean. Identity, Alterity and Interactions: Archive et Révolution: espaces de débat et pratiques culturelles en Syrie à partir de 2011 (Palermo, 12–16 September).
 Presented a paper at the “Giornate della Geografia 2016,” Mediterraneo. Frontiere, città, territori: Lo scrittore e la città: distopie urbane e romanzo arabo (University of Naples L’Orientale, Naples, 8–10 September).
 Presented a paper at the international conference Interfaith Love. Love, Sex, and Marriage in the Islamicate World: “True Love vs Halal Love: Forbidden Challenges in Contemporary Arabic Fiction” (Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society [LUCIS], Leiden University, 22–24 June).
 Presented a paper at the 12th Conference of the European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL), “Upholding Humanity in a Post-human World? Arabic Literature after the ‘Arab Spring’”: “Rāwiyāt de Maha Hassan: métamorphose et réincarnation comme dernière tentative pour préserver la vie” (University of Oslo, 30 May–4 June).
 Presented a paper at the seminar L’Oriente illustrato: l’immaginario italiano sul Medio ed Estremo Oriente attraverso un secolo di illustrazioni, fotografie e fumetti: “Stereotipi in copertina: come vendere la cultura araba in Italia” (University of Naples L’Orientale, Palazzo Du Mesnil, 4–5 May).
 Presented a paper at the seminar Ritratti di città. Società e assetti urbani come soggetto letterario, epigrafico, storiografico e archeologico in Oriente dall’antichità all’età contemporanea: “Ridisegnare la megalopoli: Il Cairo nell’immaginario letterario post 11/9” (University of Naples L’Orientale, Palazzo Du Mesnil, 12–13 April).
 Presented a paper at the 13th annual conference of SeSaMO (Italian Society for Middle Eastern Studies), Migranti: comunità, frontiere, memorie e conflitti: “L’esilio come nuova madrepatria: riflessioni sull’‘impossibil ritorno’ nella recente narrativa irachena” (Catania, 17–19 March).

LECTURES AND CONFERENCES (PAST 10 YEARS)
2024 Keynote lecture, “Spazi di resistenza o di sopravvivenza? Il teatro arabo in contesti di guerra,” at the doctoral conference Espèces d’espaces. Lo spazio come lente di analisi (r)esistenziale (University of Naples L’Orientale, 12 December).
 Lecture, “La ricezione del teatro italiano nel mondo arabo tra drammaturgia e scena” (Seminar in Italian Studies, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, 20 November).
 Lecture, “La Palestina in un dettaglio minore” (Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Bologna; FIMIM Research Centre; IDA – Images and Distortions of the Other project, 19 February).
2023 Lecture, “Le protagoniste del teatro arabo tra scrittura e scena” (Department of Languages, Literatures and Modern Cultures, Gabriele d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 27 February).
 Lecture, “Tradurre drammaturgia. Tra testo e pratica teatrale” (Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 20 April).
2022 Keynote lecture, “Is still rihla a genre in Arabic Literature?” at the international conference Thresholds to Arabic Literary Criticism, organised by Columbia University (New York, USA, 14 December).
2021 Lecture, “Nuovi linguaggi nella Letteratura Araba Post-rivoluzionaria,” at the interdisciplinary seminar Conoscere il mondo islamico: Forme e arte nel mondo islamico. Le sfide del passato dinanzi al presente (Department of Humanities, Centre for Studies on the Contemporary Islamic World and Africa, University of Catania, 21 April).
 Lecture at the seminar Drammaturgie Contemporanee. Parte seconda. Paesi Extra Europei, organised by Hystrio journal (21 March).
2019 Lecture, “Il Cairo,” as part of the series I Saperi dell’Orientale: Metropoli. Il viaggio attraverso le città dell’Oriente (University of Naples L’Orientale, 16 April).