Faculty and Staff
U of A Faculty
Helena Fracchia (PhD, University of California Berkeley) Director of the University of Alberta School in Cortona, Professor of Classics in the Dept. of History and Classics, Adjunct Professor of Italian, Director of the University of Alberta Archaeological Field School at Ossaia. Dr. Fracchia has authored and co-authored several books and numerous articles on the archaeology of pre-Roman and Roman Italy. Her current research focus is the Romanization of Italy in the regions of Tuscany and Basilicata. Dr. Fracchia has held numerous Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants for her work in Italy. She was the recipient of a McCalla Research Professorship and has been awarded a 2004 Killam Annual Professorship for excellence in teaching, research and service at the University of Alberta.
Maurizio Gualtieri (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) Professor Emeritus of History and Classics, University of Alberta, and Professor Emeritus of Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology at the University of Perugia. His main research interests are pre-Roman and Roman Italy. He has written numerous articles and several books on that topic, with grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He has directed the University of Alberta Field School in Italy at Roccagloriosa and at Oppido Lucano, where work is still on-going.
Thomas Keating (PhD, Dalhousie University) is a Professor in Political Science and teaches courses in the areas of international relations, international ethics and Canadian foreign policy. He has published in these areas as well as works on peace building and humanitarian intervention. His most recent works are Global Politics, Oxford, 2010 (with Andy Knight) and Canada and World Order, 3rd edition, Oxford, forthcoming 2012. He is the recipient of the Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Teaching Award and the University of Alberta’s Rutherford Award for Undergraduate Teaching in 2004.
Anne Malena (PhD, Cornell University) is a Professor of French and Translation Studies in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies. She has published The Negotiated Self: The Dynamics of Identity in Francophone Caribbean Narrative (New York: Peter Lang, 1998); French translations of two novels by Kristjana Gunnars (La Maraude, Leméac 1995, which was nominated for the Governor General Literary Award in Translation, and Degré Zéro, Leméac 1998); many chapters and articles in top journals specializing in Caribbean Studies, Translation Studies and Cultural Studies as well as translated short stories, essays and poetry. She is the Editor of TranscUlturAl: a Journal of Translation and Cultural Studies (http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/TC). Her current book project involves documenting the history of translation in Louisiana.
Dean Spaner (PhD, McGill University) Professor, Plant Breeding, Genetics and Organic Agriculture in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Spaner has authored and co-authored numerous articles on agronomy, organic agronomic systems, plant breeding and genetics. His background includes work in tropical and international settings. He presently breeds wheat for conventional and organic systems in Alberta and teaches historical and modern aspects of crop production, and some ethical issues in food production. Dr. Spaner has held numerous research grants, including Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grants for work on organic agriculture. He was the recipient of a McCalla Research Professorship and has generally stayed out of trouble.
Jesse Thomas (MFA (Painting), Washington University in St. Louis) is an Assistant Professor in Painting in the Department of Art and Design. He has previously taught painting and drawing in Florence, Italy for the Washington University in St Louis Study Abroad Program, as well as the University of Georgia’s Cortona, Italy Program. His paintings have been exhibited extensively in the US, most recently in Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami. Thomas’ work was selected for inclusion in the annual publication New American Paintings in 2010 and 2011.
Local Staff
Roberto Bondi (MA in Foreign Languages, University of Siena) holds a Certificate in “Second level DITALS – Didactics of Italian as Foreign Language” from the University for Foreigners in Siena and can teach advanced Italian language and literature (in addition to English, German and Spanish) and is also certified to test students who want to obtain a Certificate of Italian as a Foreign Language at the University for Foreigners in Siena.
Alessandro Celani (PhD, University of Perugia) Taught art history at Richmond College, Rome; U of A alumni in Cortona; and at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. Author of numerous books and papers on topics in ancient, medieval and renaissance art.
Valentina Raparelli (LLB, University of Rome “La Sapienza”; PhD, University of Naples) has published articles on multicultural society and immigration, and has lectured at the University of Perugia on Italian Constitutional History (“The Italian Political Parties and the Democratic State”, “The Welfare State”, “The Republican Constitution of 1948 and the Resistenza”, “Globalization and Crisis of the National State”, etc.). She is now a researcher at the following institutions: University of Rome “La Sapienza”, University of Perugia and University for Foreigners in Perugia.
Edmonton-Based Staff
Trevor Buckle, Manager of the School in Cortona
Phone: (780) 492-4389 or 1-888-533-5735 (in Canada)
Fax: (780) 492-6325