Italian Folklore

Dr. Gina M. Miele is an Italian-American scholar, professor, and cultural storyteller whose work brings the richness of old-world folklore to new generations. As a professor of Italian language and culture, she teaches students annually, helping them connect with Italy’s deep literary and spiritual traditions. Dr. Miele is former director of the Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America at MSU and received her PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University. She specializes in nineteenth and twentieth-century Italian folktales, particularly those of Luigi Capuana and Italo Calvino. She has published articles in Italica, Marvels and Tales, Fabula, and Italian Quarterly. She is a contributor to the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales and Marvelous Transformations: An Anthology of Tales and Contemporary Critical Perspectives, as well as the co-author of the workbook that accompanies the textbook Parliamo Italiano. Her essays and book reviews on Italian American studies can be consulted in the Harvard College Journal of Italian American History and Culture, the Italian American Review, Altreitalie, the Paterson Literary Review, and Primo. With a strong international following, Dr. Miele stands at the intersection of scholarship and community. Italian Folklore carries that mission forward in the form of a deeply researched and accessible guide to Italian folklore and ritual.