English

Roberta DiCarmine

Roberta Di Carmine, Ph.D.

Professor of Film Studies, Graduate Director, Coordinator of Film Minor

I was born and raised in Pescara, Italy, where I received my Laurea (magna cum laude, University "G. D'Annunzio"). I hold a Master's degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Oregon.

Before coming to WIU in 2006, I taught at Dickinson College (Pennsylvania) and at the University of Oklahoma.

At WIU, I am responsible for teaching film courses and directing the Interdisciplinary Film Minor. I am also the faculty adviser of the WIU Film Club. Having contributed to the creation of an Interdisciplinary Film Minor has made my staying at WIU particularly enjoyable. I love teaching film and I do enjoy interacting with students who have a passion for film and filmmaking. In 2018, I served as juror in the People 's Jury at the 45th Flaiano Film Festival in Pescara, Italy (June 28-July 8, 2018).

My scholarly interests mostly focus on race/ethnicity and gender. I have published refereed articles on food and Italian American cinema, teaching African cinema to undergraduates, and violence and sexuality in the early films by Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone.

In 2011, Peter Lang published my first book, Italy Meets Africa. Colonial Discourses in Italian Cinema and in 2012 my work on Italian film comedy was published in A Companion to Film Comedy (edited by Andrew Horton and Joanna Rapf, Wiley-Blackwell). My most recent publication is a book manuscript entitled Cultural Metamorphoses in Contemporary Italian Cinema (Peter Lang Publishing, September 2018).

I have had the privilege to be recognized as film scholar and faculty member:

  • Outstanding Faculty Award winner in Internationalizing the Campus (Spring 2018), WIU College of Arts and Science
  • Winner, Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award, Western Illinois University, April 22, 2013
  • Nominated for the United States, Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, International Book Award, "Premio Internazionale di Italianistica Ennio Flaiano,” April-May, 2012 (for my book Italy Meets Africa).
  • Winner, 2010 Provost’s Award for Academic Excellence in Internationalizing the Campus, Western Illinois University, October 13, 2010
  • Winner, College of Arts and Sciences’ Outstanding Faculty Award for Internationalizing the Campus, Western Illinois University, May 7, 2010

Besides watching and discussing movies, I love to travel. I have visited so many countries so far (South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Japan, Vietnam and most of Europe) but I am always up to another trip! I also enjoy photography, architecture, contemporary art, and dogs!