In this edition of Frontiere, we are pleased to spotlight current Italian Studies PhD student and Graduate Teaching Associate Demetrio Antolini!
Before joining Ohio State, Demetrio obtained a BA in International Studies from the University of Bologna in 2013 and a MA (cum laude) in Comparative International Relations with a concentration on transatlantic relations from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in 2016. While in Venice, he also took classes at Venice International University. In 2016 he was an exchange student at California State University, Long Beach for the spring semester.
He began his studies at The Ohio State University in the Department of French and Italian (FRIT) in the fall semester of 2018. In 2019, he was awarded a scholarship to honor Ohio State’s sesquicentennial year. Currently, he is working on his dissertation provisionally entitled “Thinking with the City: Contemporary Neapolitan Cinema from 2012 – 2022” in which he tackles the recent surge of cinematic representations of the city of Naples, Italy by blending Italian studies, film studies, urban studies, and Mediterranean studies.
For the 2023-2024 academic year, Demetrio is working as Graduate Research Associate under Dana Renga, as well as making progress on his dissertation project and presenting his research at conferences. In his free time, Demetrio likes to watch films, sports (mostly football and soccer), and travel with his wife between Italy and the US.
Some of his most recent academic achievements and future plans include:
- Teaching as primary instructor “Italian 2055: Mafia Movies” in Summer 2023 to 40+ students.
- Representing the graduate student body on FRIT’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Engagement Committee.
- Representing the graduate student body on the search committee for FRIT’s Transnational Italian Studies new faculty hire.
- Writing an article entitled “Coming of age in Naples in The Lying Life of Adults” which will appear in the forthcoming volume under contract with Palgrave Macmillan and entitled “Contemporary Italian Youth Television” edited by Luca Barra, Danielle Hipkins, Catherine O’Rawe, and Dana Renga.
- Presenting a section of the first chapter of his dissertation entitled “Between Mass Tourism and Authenticity: The Rione Sanità in Mario Martone’s Nostalgia” at the 55th NeMLA Convention in Boston, MA in March 2024.
If you'd like to support our Graduate Students' professional and academic development, please consider donating to the Bulatkin / Pardo Development Fund.
