Saskia Ziolkowski, Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor

Saskia Ziolkowski

Please note: Saskia has left the "Jewish Studies Program Certificate" group at Duke University; some info here might not be up to date.

Website: https://sites.duke.edu/saskiaziolkowski/

I work on Italian literature and culture from a comparative perspective, especially in terms of the connections between Italy and German-language countries. My research topics include modernism, the novel, animal studies, world literature, Jewish studies, migration, literary history, and issues of identity. My book Kafka’s Italian Progeny (University of Toronto Press, awarded the American Association of Italian Studies 2020 Book Prize in Literary Studies) explores Franz Kafka’s sometimes surprising connections with key writers — from Massimo Bontempelli, Lalla Romano, and Italo Calvino to Antonio Tabucchi, Paola Capriolo, and Elena Ferrante — who have shaped Italy’s literary landscape. I am currently working on a monograph on  Jewishness in modern Italian literature and co-directing the Global Jewish Modernism Lab with Kata Gellen.

Contact Info:
Office Location:  205 Language Ctr, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:  (919) 660-2436
Email Address: send me a message
Web Page:  http://saskiaziolkowski.com

Teaching (Spring 2024):

  • ITALIAN 378S.01, SVEVO AND WORLD LITERATURE Synopsis
    Languages 114, Th 03:05 PM-05:35 PM
    (also cross-listed as GERMAN 378S.01, JEWISHST 378S.01, LIT 376S.01, ROMST 378S.01)
  • ITALIAN 383S.01, JEWISH ITALY & ITS LITERATURES Synopsis
    Languages 114B, TuTh 10:05 AM-11:20 AM
    (also cross-listed as JEWISHST 383S.01, RELIGION 383S.01)
  • ITALIAN 713S.01, SVEVO AND WORLD LITERATURE Synopsis
    Languages 114, Th 03:05 PM-05:35 PM
    (also cross-listed as GERMAN 713S.01, JEWISHST 713S.01, LIT 713S.01, ROMST 713S.01)
Teaching (Fall 2024):

  • ROMST 206.01, MODERN EUROPEAN SHORT FICTION Synopsis
    Languages 109, MW 10:05 AM-11:20 AM
    (also cross-listed as ENGLISH 244.01, GERMAN 243.01, ICS 212.01, ITALIAN 336.01, JEWISHST 243.01, LIT 244.01)
  • LIT 390.03, SPECIAL TOPICS IN LITERATURE Synopsis
    Languages 211, MW 01:25 PM-02:40 PM
    (also cross-listed as HISTORY 390.04, ICS 390.03, ITALIAN 390.03, JEWISHST 390.03)
  • ITALIAN 590.01, TOPICS IN ITALIAN STUDIES Synopsis
    Languages 211, MW 01:25 PM-02:40 PM
    (also cross-listed as ICS 590.01, LIT 590.01)
Office Hours:

Spring 2023
Languages 217A 
Tuesdays 2:30-4:30 p.m. and by appointment (zoom is also an option). 

Education:

Ph.D.Columbia University2009
A.B.Princeton University2001
Specialties:

Italian
Research Interests:

Cultural and Literary Connections between Italy and German-speaking Countries, Modernism, Translation Studies, Jewish Studies, and Issues of Identity, (especially as they relate to modern Italian literature).

Curriculum Vitae  Bio
Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Ziolkowski, SE, Italian ghetto stories: Toward a transnational literary history, edited by Polezzi, L; Bassi, S; Riccò, G, Forum Italicum, vol. 57 no. 2 (August, 2023), pp. 579-611 [doi]  [abs]
  2. Ziolkowski, S; Pappalardo, S, The Emergence of Austro-Italian Literary Studies, Journal of Austrian Studies no. 56 (2023), pp. 63-73, University of Nebraska Press
  3. Ziolkowski, S, Superman in Italy: The power of refugee artists, in Migrants Shaping Europe, Past and Present Multilingual Literatures, Arts, and Cultures, edited by Solterer, H; Joos, V (October, 2022), pp. 96-130, Manchester University Press, ISBN 9781526166166  [abs]
  4. Ziolkowski, SE, For a Jewish Italian Literary History: from Italo Svevo to Igiaba Scego, Italian Culture, vol. 40 no. 2 (January, 2022), pp. 131-153 [doi]  [abs]
  5. Ziolkowski, S, “From Deportation to the Laocoön, An Archival Fiction,” Review of Hans von Troth, Pollak’s Arm (trans. Elisabeth Lauffer), Reading in Translation (2022)