Phillip Balma is an assistant professor of Italian literary and cultural studies at the University of Connecticut-Storrs, where he serves also as the coordinator of the undergraduate program in Italian studies. He teaches modern Italian literature and cinema, as well as courses on the Italian American experience. His research interests include the Jewish experience in contemporary Italopone literature and film, artistic representations of World War II, the theory and practice of literary translation, Italian literature in dialect, the influence of English on the Italian language, and the postcolonial question in Italy. He was previously a member of the Italian facuty at Indiana University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Georgia.