Yuri Sangalli

After years of teaching across Ontario and, in recent years, in the hills of Tuscany, I still find myself drawn to the same questions that first inspired my doctoral research: how do literature and the visual arts shape our sense of space, time, and self? I am currently Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Department of Italian and French Studies at St. Jerome’s University, and I continue to teach Italian language, literature, and cinema at Western University, where I have been a faculty member for over twenty years.

I hold a PhD from the University of Toronto, where I wrote my dissertation on representations of industrial modernity in the works of Antonioni, Pasolini, and Calvino. Since then, I have published on a range of topics including film history, how postwar Italian cinema expresses anxiety using space and setting, and stylistic approaches to contemporary adaptations such as those based on the works of Italian novelist Elena Ferrante. My teaching portfolio spans film history, first-, second-, and third-year language intensives, and study abroad programs in Arezzo (Italy). I also teach culture and cinema courses on topics such as the evolution of the Western—from the classic American Western to the Samurai film, the Spaghetti Western, and the genre’s reimagining by directors like Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino—Italian neorealism, the cinematic and literary legacy of the Mafia (ITALST 265), and Contagion, Disease, and Illness in Italian Literature, Opera, and Film, a course I developed for the Health and the Humanities program at SJU.

My classrooms, whether in person or online, are guided by a belief that language and culture are best learned in conversation with the world around us. I strive to foster inquiry and self-discovery in students by creating learning environments that are both rigorous and enjoyable, and I see my role not just as an instructor but as someone who motivates curiosity and lifelong learning. I am especially interested in online pedagogy and immersive learning and have designed multiple digital courses in both language and cultural studies.

When I am not teaching or writing, I can often be found revisiting classic works of literature and cinema, reflecting on course design, or immersing myself in contemporary global film. I regularly return to the writings of Antonioni and Calvino, whose reflections on form and perception continue to shape my thinking. I also spend as much time as I can wandering through pinacotheques and galleries, drawn by a long-standing fascination with the evolution of pictorial language—from Byzantine frescoes to contemporary painting and photography. My particular interest in the early masters of perspective and visual storytelling, especially Giotto, the Sienese School, and Piero della Francesca, through to Titian, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio, has deepened through both scholarly inquiry and the quiet, sustained attention that comes from viewing art firsthand. My research takes an interdisciplinary approach to literature, film, and visual culture, guided by the belief that these forms are best understood in dialogue with one another and with the broader cultural contexts in which they emerge. I remain curious about how stories—whether cinematic, literary, or visual—continue to shape our understanding of identity, community, and place.

Refereed Publications

Chapters

“What Story to Tell? Framing the Weighty Past in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter”. Adaptation and Intermediality in Elena Ferrante: From «L’amore molesto» to «La vita bugiarda degli adulti». Cauchi-Santoro, R. & Kilbourn, R., eds. Florence: Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2025. (Forthcoming)

Articles

“Gli ambienti interiorizzati nella Tetralogia di Michelangelo Antonioni”. Bollettino ‘900 - Electronic Newsletter of ‘900 Italian Literature 2 (2001). Università di Bologna: 2001. ISSN 1124-1578.

“Space and Time in the Cinema of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Roman Trilogy”. Nemla Italian Studies 23-24 (2000): 61-84.

“Interiorized Settings in Antonioni’s Tetralogia”. Bollettino ‘900 - Electronic Newsletter of ‘900 Italian Literature 2 (2000), Università di Bologna: 2000.

 “Trapani e la sua provincia”. The Trapanese Community of Toronto. Salvatore Bancheri, ed.  Welland: Edition Soleil Publishing Inc., 1996.

Book Reviews

“Carlo Testa. Italian Cinema and Modern European Literatures”. Rivista di Studi Italiani XX, 1 (2002): 538-541. 

ITAL 101: Introduction to Italian Language 1

ITAL 102: Introduction to Italian Language 2

ITALST 100: Understanding Modern Italy

ITALST 120: Italian Cinema

ITALST 263/HHUM 263: Contagion, Disease, and Illness in Italian Literature and Film

ITALST 265: The Mafia

ITALST 281: Italian Cinema and the Novel

ITALST 292: Italian Culture and Civilization 2

Grants and Travel-Research awards

Dean’s Travel-Research Grant, University of Western Ontario, March 2003.

University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Travel Award, March 2003.

University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Travel Award, January 2001.

University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Travel Award, April 2000.

Academic Awards

2001 University of Toronto Open Doctoral Fellowship for Excellent Academic Achievement.

2000 University of Toronto Open Doctoral Fellowship for Excellent Academic Achievement.

2000 Jean Arnold Tory Bursary for Excellent Academic Achievement.

1999 University of Toronto Open Doctoral Fellowship for Excellent Academic Achievement.

1999 Emilio Goggio Graduate Scholarship for Outstanding Academic and Extra-Academic Activities.

1998 University of Toronto Open Doctoral Fellowship for Excellent Academic Achievement.

1998 OGS, Ontario Graduate Scholarship for Excellence in Doctoral Studies

1997 University of Toronto Open Doctoral Fellowship for Excellent Academic Achievement.

1996 University of Toronto Open Doctoral Fellowship for Excellent Academic Achievement.

Teaching Awards  

University of Western Ontario.  University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll, Award of Excellence, 2016-2017.

University of Western Ontario.  University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll, Award of Excellence, 2015-2016.

University of Western Ontario.  University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll, Award of Excellence, 2014-2015.

University of Western Ontario.  University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll, Award of Excellence, 2011-2012.

University of Western Ontario.  University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll, Award of Excellence, 2009-2010.

University of Western Ontario.  University Students’ Council Teaching Honour Roll, Award of Excellence, 2006-2007.

• Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature
• Italian, European and American Cinema
• Literary Theory and Criticism
• Film Theory and Criticism
• Narratology and Genre Studies
• Italian Language and Culture
• Study Abroad Language Programs
• Online Course Design and Development
• Online Language Teaching