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What do you teach at Ca’ Foscari? What are your main research interests? 
I teach Arabic Language and Literature and my main interests are contemporary literature (poetry specifically), the Palestinian issue, literary translation, the language of Arabic media, Memory and Spatial Studies.
I studied at the Orientale University in Naples, where I obtained a PhD in Comparative Literature in 2010, with a dissertation on the plots of memory of the Palestinian Nakba (the 1948 catastrophe) in literature, which became my main monograph. I have carried out research in several Arab countries (Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen) and taught as an adjunct professor at several Italian universities (Orientale in Naples, University of Salento, Luiss in Rome, University of Macerata). At IULM in Milan I taught from 2013 to 2017 and created the chair of Arabic language and directed the Milco Master of Oriental Languages and Cultures (1st level). There I became researcher (A), before winning the competition as researcher B at Ca' Foscari University in Venice. I have been teaching at Ca' Foscari since 2012-2013 and in 2014 I was awarded a fellowship on a project related to Arabic geopoetics. 

What led you to pursue a research career? What are you most passionate about in your field of study? 
A deep passion for Arabic literature, especially for modern and contemporary poetry, an extremely fertile and varied field of research with many unexplored areas. This is accompanied by a long-standing interest in the Palestinian issue and the rich cultural production of that people. I am passionate about both researching sources and fieldwork, direct contact with authors under investigation, listening to communities and stakeholders to pass on knowledge and data without further mediation. The satisfaction of contributing to a more direct knowledge of the phenomena studied, using direct, first-hand sources and the experience gained in the field.

What does teaching at the university mean to you?
Teaching the disciplines I love at university makes my life complete, not only my job. This is an activity that goes beyond purely professional or job-related aspects: for me, it is a cultural and even social mission, where the contribution to real knowledge about aspects and realities of the Arab and Islamic societies and worlds, free from prejudices and ideological orientations, is of vital importance for the present and future of our community and more generally and in perspective, of the entire global society. I also believe that a good teacher, at least in the humanities, should be able to pass on knowledge and notions outside the classroom, participating in public debates and community life. In this sense, the "Civic Engagement" is an important opportunity to combine academic and scientific activity with public outreach and community engagement. 

You work in a department dealing with non-European worlds: what does working on cultural diversity mean to you in an increasingly interconnected world?
Exactly what I said above. An ethical choice, a social mission. I firmly believe that our future (if not our present already) will be based on translation, in the widest possible sense. Interaction and contamination processes are unstoppable and are a great opportunity to transform our global community, primarily in the West. It is also an opportunity to revolutionise our models and our world based on privilege and domination. This is because financial and economic globalisation has sought to leave out the central aspect of contamination and mutuality between different communities. Dealing with cultural diversity today in an ethical, conscious and responsible manner and helping to convey the highest meaning of this mission in our classrooms means helping to build our future society, which will hopefully be based on social justice, respect for equal rights between different communities, acceptance and respect for differences and plurality.