Beginning in Fall 2025, the Department of French and Italian (FRIT) at The Ohio State University is delighted to inaugurate a new Zoom-based lecture series titled New Directions in Italian Studies: Migration and Mobility. Curated and hosted by Assistant Professor of Italian, Dr. Qian Liu, this series will bring to campus—virtually—some of the most influential scholars, writers, and artists whose work is reshaping the landscape of Italian studies today.
At the heart of this initiative lies a commitment to exploring how themes of migration, diaspora, and cross-cultural exchange are redefining notions of Italian identity in the 20th and 21st century. The series responds to the broader transnational turn within the field—an intellectual shift that moves beyond the traditional nation-bound frameworks to examine Italy in a global context. For its inaugural season, the series proudly presents three compelling talks by distinguished guests: Giulia Riccò (University of Michigan), Gaoheng Zhang (University of British Columbia), and Ubah Cristina Ali Farah, the renowned Somali-Italian writer and activist.
Our third speaker will be Somali-Italian poet, novelist, playwright, and librettist, Ubah Cristina Ali Farah. Dr. Farah's talk, entitled, The Termite House: Creative Writing, Distance, and My Transatlantic Journey. She grew up in Mogadishu but fled to Europe at the outbreak of the civil war. She is the author of three novels: Little Mother (Madre piccola, Frassinelli, 2007) and Commander of the river (Il comandante del fiume, 66thand2nd, 2014) – both published in English by Indiana University Press as part of the Global African Voices series – and Stations of the Moon (Le stazioni della luna , 66thand2nd, 2021). She also wrote the ekphrasis La danza dell’orice (Juxta Press, 2020) and the collection of short stories The Phoenix’s Ashes (Le ceneri della fenice , Hopefulmonster, 2022). She holds a PhD in African Studies (Università L’Orientale Napoli) and is the recipient of the Lingua Madre and Vittorini Prizes. In her talk, Ubah Cristina Ali Farah will share her transnational literary experiences in Africa, Europe, and the United States.
In 2024, a generous gift from the family of Italian Professor Albert Mancini helped to create the Mancini Fund, which promotes and facilitates lecture series and experiences for Italian language, literature, and culture at Ohio State. It is thanks to funds like this that we can continue to provide Ohio State and the broader community with Italian programming.
To ask questions about accessibility or request accommodations, please contact Matt Lang.650@osu.edu. At least two weeks' advance notice will help us to provide seamless access.
