Catherine Ramsey-Portolano is Associate Professor and Director of Italian Studies and Modern Languages at The American University of Rome in Rome, Italy, where she teaches courses on Italian language, culture, literature and film. She has completed a BA (The University of Tennessee-Knoxville), MA (The University of Wisconsin-Madison), Laurea (LUMSA University-Rome) and PhD (University of Chicago), all in Italian Literature. Her books include Performing Bodies: Female Illness in Italian Literature and Cinema (1860-1920), The Future of Italian Teaching: Media, New Technologies and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and Rethinking Neera.