Exploring Literature, Identity, and Difference in Premodern Italy

Dr. Laura Ingallinella, Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto, with a joint appointment in the Renaissance Studies Program at Victoria College, is the recipient of the 2024 ISSNAF Young Investigator RnB4Culture Award.

Before joining the University of Toronto, she taught at Wellesley College and completed her Ph.D. at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. Her research and teaching focus on the intersection of literature, identity, and difference in premodern Italy (1300-1600).

Her work has been published in esteemed journals, including I Tatti Studies in the Renaissance, Forum Italicum, Bibliotheca Dantesca, Medioevo Romanzo, Revue Mabillon, and The Sundial by ACMRS. Dr. Ingallinella is currently finalizing her first book, The Fraudulent Muse: Gender and Literary Forgery in Early Modern Italy.

In addition to her research, Dr. Ingallinella serves as co-Principal Investigator for the NEH-funded La Sfera Project, which includes her translation of Goro Dati’s 15th-century work La sfera (The Globe), set for publication by Italica Press in 2025. She is also co-editing a forthcoming volume on race in Renaissance Italy with Professor Robert J. Clines, titled A Crossroads of Difference: Race and the Making of Premodern Italy.

Below is the jury's statement recognizing Prof. Ingallinella as this year’s awardee.

"Dr. Laura Ingallinella is awarded the RnB4Culture Award for her highly engaging project that bridges between early modern and contemporary gender studies. Her methodological awareness is striking for such a junior scholar and her delivery was brilliant. Dr. Ingallinella clearly shows commitment to research and to further studies on gender forgery. Her competence during the presentation has been outstanding and very deserving of a recognition."