Teresa Lobalsamo

Teresa Lobalsamo is Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her current research includes the curation of a digital archive of Italian-Canadiana, titled “Italian-Canadian Foodways,” which has also recently been the topic of several public lectures she has been invited to give. Teresa currently serves as an Executive Committee member for the Association of American Teachers of Italian (AATI). She received the UTM Teaching Excellence Award for Junior Faculty for 2017–18. Teresa’s unfulfilled dreams: to be on Saturday Night Live and/or to sing on a big stage (unless being a retired wedding singer counts?)! 

Current Courses

Summer 2024:

• ITA242 (Italian Award-Winners, Box-Office Hits)

Fall/Winter 2024-25:

• ITA100 (Beginner Italian)
• ITA235 (Italian Culture Through Food)
• ITA309 (Mafia Movies)

Education

• PhD, Italian Studies, University of Toronto (U of T) 
• MA, Italian Studies, U of T 
• BA Hons, Italian, English, French, U of T 

Areas of Teaching and Research Interests  

• Cinema Studies 
• Cultural Studies 
• Experiential Learning 
• Food Studies 
• Language 
• Theatre 

Selected Publications

Articles & Textbook

• (Forthcoming.) Lobalsamo, Teresa, Ethan Salerno Nogueira, Adriano Pasquali, and Dellannia Segreti. “Humanities Pedagogy in a Pandemic Context: Case Studies on Remote Classrooms for Language and Culture Studies.” Special Issue: Digital Humanities Pedagogies in Times of Crisis. Edinburgh University Press. 
• Lobalsamo, Teresa, and Adriano Pasquali. “Drama-Based Foreign Language Learning and the Modern Mandragola.” Skenè. Journal of Theatre and Drama Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2019. Peer-reviewed. 29 pages. 
• Lobalsamo, Teresa, and Wendy Schrobilgen D’Angelo. “Exploring Learners’ Perceptions of North-South through Italian Cinema.” Soleil, 2015. 10 pages. 
• Open Textbook: Italian Grammar. UTM Library: Digital Initiatives, 21 Oct. 2015. Archived in 2022 for updates. 

Editorial Credits 

• Gastronomy, Culture, and the Arts: A Scholarly Exchange of Epic Portions. Conference Proceedings. May 2017, U of T T-Space. Legas Publishing, Toronto, Oct. 2017. 350 pages.  
• Federico Fellini: A Disorderly and Passionate Genius of Italian Cinema. Conference Proceedings. Co-editor Alberto Zambenedetti. Cesati Editori. Jan. 2016. 300 pages.

Selected Grants, Fellowships and Awards 

• Experiential Learning Development Grant, Principal Investigator, Experiential Eduction Unit, UTM, 2023–24, Cultural/Community Engagement 
• Global Classrooms Funding Competition, Office of the Vice President International and Centre for International Experience, U of T, 2023, New Perspectives and Cross-Cultural Appreciation in Italian Studies: Support for Cross-Institutional Activities 
• U of T Instructional Technology Innovation Fund, Principal Investigator, 2014–2017, Open Textbook: Italian Grammar  
• Community-Engaged Learning Faculty Fellow, Centre for Community Partnerships, U of T, 2021–2022
• Award Nomination: Best DH Data Visualization (Digital Humanities Awards: Highlighting Resources in Digital Humanities), results forthcoming, 2023. 
• Teaching Excellence Award for Junior Faculty, Office of the Vice-Principal Academic and Dean, UTM, 2018
• Dean’s Excellence Award, Office of the Vice-Principal Academic and Dean, UTM, 2012; 2018. 

Other

Academic Affiliations 

• American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI) 
• Culinaria Research Centre (University of Toronto Scarborough) 
• Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy (ISUP, UTM) 

Creative Professional Activities 

• Director, Le vedove scaltre, 2022
• Director, Ciao, Professoressa!, 2019
• Director, La mandragola, 2017
• Director, Matrimonio all’italiana, 2015
• Director, La Lena, 2013
• Director, Nun mi maritu per procura, 2012
• Director, La Calandria, 2011

Recent Community Engagements as an Invited Speaker 

• 6-Part Curious Minds Lecture Series, Hot Docs. Toronto, ON. Various dates, Fall 2023
• “On Eduardo DeFilippo.” Stratford Festival Meighen Forum, Stratford, ON. 24 Aug. 2023 
• “Un grande pasto italiano.” Stratford Festival Forum Dinner, Stratford, ON. 26 Aug. 2023 
• 4-Part Cultural Lecture Series,Villa Charities, Toronto, ON. Various dates, Fall 2021