International Coursework

ITT3930 - Italian Cinema and Culture

This course focused on key aspects of Italian culture from unification to modern days. We examined problems left unsolved by unification and Fascism, such as the North and South divide, fascism and the democratic institutions, the fall of the “first Republic,” and the role of the Catholic Church in contemporary Italy. This course introduced me to Italian cinema which has followed, mirrored, and sometimes even anticipated cultural and social transformations in Italian society. Through the lens of some of the masterpieces of Italian cinema, we looked at the representation of the city of Rome, its cultural, political, historical and artistic landscape. For a closer encounter with the city, we visited the Museo del Risorgimento and did a tour of the Jewish ghetto.

CLA3930 - The Ancient City: Rome

This course discussed the natural topography, sites, and monuments of Ancient Rome from the earliest times until the end of the empire. Special attention was given to the monuments themselves as well as their function within Roman society which provided insight into daily life in the ancient. Ultimately, being in Rome allowed for a much more clear picture of the ancient city and what it was like to be a Roman.

ITA4905 - Independent Study

This course was designed to help students' deepen knowledge of the Italian language and culture. The enrichment of vocabulary and refinement of acquired grammar occured through conversations with Native speakers.

Italian Coursework

Taught in Italian

ITA3420 - Grammar and Composition

This course was designed to further students' writing and comprehension skills in Italian. I cultivated a more advanced grammatical apparatus and vocabulary. The identification and employment of a broad variety of written styles and appropriate grammatical forms in Italian was central to this course.

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Taught in Italian

ITW4330 - Modern Italian Poetry

This course included the analysis of modern and contemporary Italian poetry focusing on poetic representations of trees, flowers, and other green entities. The course examined humanity's relationship with the vegetal realm and broached the green world from a variety of perspectives. I engaged with Florida's plant life and drew comparisons to the Italian peninsula.

Taught in Italian

ITW4253 - Delitto all'italiana

This course considered Italian crime fiction and film from the perspective of place, exploring this global genre in a sampling of its Italian incarnations. Attention was focused on the specifically Italian colors of the giallo. In particular, we considered how the local shapes these crime stories, considering the role played by Italian spaces and their inhabitants, dialects or local customs, regional histories or cultures.

Taught in Italian

ITW4580 - Animals and Animality in Italian Culture

This course explored a selection of Italian portraits of the nonhuman animal. We examined literary animals such as dogs, cats, pigs, goats, mice, and donkeys created by authors and poets including Verga, Svevo, Tozzi, Morante, and Calvino. These animals were not only characters within poems, short stories, or novels, but they also served as a trigger for philosophical and ethical considerations of the relationship between the human and the nonhuman animal.

Taught in Italian

ITW3310 - Italian Play

This course improved my communicative skills while also introducing me to the literary and theater works of the Italian play writer Luigi Pirandello. Our class focused on the reading, production and final performance of three one act plays. The course was an immersion in Italian language and culture and Italian was the only language used during class time and during the production of the play.

Taught in English

ITT3930 - Italian Environmental Humanities

This course was structured around modules dedicated to diverse and fundamental topics that have characterized the field of Environmental Humanities in recent years, particularly focusing on the Italian peninsula. Specific environmental issues of the Italian peninsula were examined and we explored challenges and recent environmental hazards. Special attention was given to the environmental dynamics of the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas and was contrasted with the ecological landscape of Florida.

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Taught in English

ITT3700 - Italian Perspectives on the Holocaust

This course was centered on the writings of Primo Levi, Italy’s most well-known and internationally esteemed survivor of the Holocaust. We also looked at the historical realities of fascist Italy and a selection of Italian films (Pontecorvo, Cavani, Wertmüller, and Benigni) that, often in controversial ways, deal with the experience of the concentration camps.

Taught in Italian

ITA3503 - Naples: Culture and History

This course was a historical, cultural, and socio-political analysis of Naples. A complex city, full of paradoxes and problems, in its long existence Naples has given the world a rich philosophical and artistic production. Our course was a journey through the musical, theatrical, literary, architectural, and artistic treasures of this city.

Conducted in Italian and English

ITW4911 - Undergraduate Research in Italian Literature

E-portfolio

Conducted in Italian and English

ITW4911 - Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Linguistics Coursework

LIN3460 - Structure of Human Language

This course investigated word formation (morphology) and sentence structure (syntax) in the world’s languages. During the course, I examined variation in these domains. The course material focused on the vocabulary and tools linguists use to discover underlying patterns, develop hypotheses, and defend arguments.

LIN4721 - Second Language Acquistion

This course taught about different theories and empirical research regarding child and adult second language acquisition (SLA). We learned how to analyze learner data.

LIN4930 - Ecolinguistics

This course considered the ways in which people talk about their natural environment and the effects this has on human thought and behavior, on grammar, and on the environment. The course also investigated the relationship between language endangerment and ecology in hotspots of linguistic diversity in the world to understand what language loss means for the planet.

TSL3360 - Teaching English as a Second Language

This course revolved around the development of pedagogical knowledge and the application of knowledge into practice across a variety of teaching contexts.

LIN4930 - Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism

This course investigated many quesitons, including but not limited to:How do we understand language? Why do we easily adjust to a speaker with a foreign accent? How do young children come to speak the language to which they are exposed? Why is it difficult to learn a second language as an adult? How do skilled bilinguals code switch with one another, moving from one language to the other without hesitation?

LIN4790 - Brain and Language

This course introduced major issues and terminology in brain and language research. Topics addressed included: brain imaging techniques, ERPs, lesion studies, auditory perception,
categorization in the brain, localizationist versus generalist approaches, symbolist versus
connectionist approaches, modularity, innateness, critical period, lateralization, plasticity, hemispheric differences.

LIN4600 - Survey of Sociolinguistics

This was a survey course that introduced me to the ways in which language and society are mutually constituted, i.e.: how language is shaped by society and how society is shaped by language. It explored both classic and emerging studies, methodologies, and theories in sociolinguistics, and taught me how to formulate hypotheses about language in society.

LIN3201 - Sounds of Human Language

This course taught me how to recognize the sounds of human languages, to understand how they are made, and to identify the physical properties that correspond to them.

Psychology Coursework

PPE3003 - Psychology of Personality

Personality Psychology is the scientific study of the psychological forces that make people uniquely themselves. It is a broad sub-discipline that involves various topics including: the importance of the unconscious, the role of the self, nomothetic versus idiographic approaches, gender differences, the power of the situation, and cultural influences.

EXP3604 - Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes. This course covered the major topics in the field, including perception, attention, memory, and decision making.

PSY3213L - Laboratory Methods in Psychology

Introduced experimental design in psychology, data analysis and interpretation of results, and literature reports. The principles and methods covered generalized to settings outside of traditional laboratory environments as well as to the scientific investigation of non-psychological phenomena.

DEP3053 - Developmental Psychology

I gained an understanding of the forces that shape human development across the lifespan. A particular emphasis was placed on the interplay of biological, psychological, and contextual factors, such as culture, in shaping development over time.

PCO4113 - Positive Psychology

This course examined the fundamentals of positive psychology. The course began with an exploration of the history of positive psychology and its basic tenants. Then we explored a wide range of topics that related to happiness and well-being, including positive relationships, positive thinking, life meaning, religion/spirituality, gratitude, altruism, career development, and character strengths.

CLP3144 - Abnormal Psychology

This course provided broad coverage of mental health issues that rise to the level of psychiatric disorders (e.g. psychopathology). Disorders covered include anxiety, depression, psychosis, personality disorders, and many more. I developed critical thinking skills as applied to psychological assessment, diagnosis, and treatment plans/therapeutic interventions that may be appropriate for each disorder.

CLP4110 - Eating Disorders

This course provided an overview of the causes and treatments associated with the full range of recognized eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, as well as a variety of subclinical forms of problematic eating behaviors and their surrounding factors and issues.

PSB3340 - Behavioral Neuroscience

This course provided a broad background in the neural basis of human behavior. It covered how—as far as is currently understood—thoughts, actions, and feelings arise from the biology, anatomy, and physiology of the nervous system.

Describe one of your services

PSY4911 - Undergraduate Research in Psychology: Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience

In this course I collected, organized, and analyzed experimental data using statistical software (Python) and the platform PsychoPy, contributing to a peer-reviewed publication (“Reality monitoring and metacognitive judgments in a false-memory paradigm,” Neuroscience Research, 2024)

Describe one of your services

PSY4940 - Introduction to Teaching in Psychology

In this course I served as the primary point of contact for students, addressing inquiries related to assignments, course materials, course policy, and grades.

Experiential Learning

I am grateful to have participated in Honoring the Ocean, an interdisciplinary, multimodal Honors experiential learning opportunity through which students witness the critical issues facing Florida’s coastline and waters. This course is sponsored by the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) and allows for students and faculty to engage in a 6-week online mini-course that culminates with hands-on experience aboard a FIO research vessel. The University of Florida Honors Program is one of only 6 institutions that participate in Honoring the Ocean each spring.