Staff profile

I am an Assistant Professor and Director of Italian Studies in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLaC). I coordinate two Italian language modules (ITAL1102 and ITAL3021) and a specialized translation module (MELA42030), part of our flagship MA in Translation Studies (MATS). Additionally, I serve as an Italian Studies Year Abroad Officer and represent our School in the university-wide Information Technology Users’ Group, contributing to university standards, policies, and developments on IT matters.

My primary research interests focus on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), alongside Communication, Cultural, and Media Studies. I am especially interested in how individuals interact with and are impacted by media, which enriches my approach to inclusive, technology-enhanced language teaching. My doctoral research centred on the portrayal of LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer) subjects in Italian film, television, and social media. I also explore topics in 19th- and 20th-century Italian culture and literature, as well as media translation, dubbing, and subtitling.

After completing a Languages and Information Technology degree at the University of Rome, I obtained a joint MA in Italian Studies from the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick. Before joining Durham, I taught and lectured across undergraduate and postgraduate modules at the Universities of Birmingham, St Andrews, and Sheffield, covering Italian language, translation, and culture. In 2019, I was awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, a recognition of excellence aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in Higher Education. I am also an approved UNILANG External Examiner and a trained AQA, Edexcel, and CILS (Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language) assessor.

I have collaborated as a Development and Communication Officer with the Association for the Study of Modern Italy (ASMI) and their journal Modern Italy. Additionally, I contributed as a research assistant and web designer for the AHRC-funded project on interdisciplinary Italian studies and participated in world-leading research as a Learning and Teaching Assistant Lead for multi-user, multi-touch tables, co-designing an interactive Italian language module for beginners.

Currently, I am involved in a new project funded by the Durham Centre for Academic Development (DCAD) to explore the role of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing foreign language learning in higher education. This collaborative project involves students and ten colleagues from across various language disciplines in the School of Modern Languages.

Selected Conference and Training Presentations

"EDI Roundtable on Inclusive Italian in the Language Classroom," Society of Italian Studies Biennial Conference, London, 21 June 2024.

"Tackling Xenophobia in the Language Classroom: Sharing Good Practice," with Cynthia Tavars, MLAC Staff Training Event, 8 May 2024.

"Global Perspectives on Gender-Inclusive Language," co-organizer with Dominique Carlini-Versini, Géraldine Crahay, and Tracey Reimann-Dawe, Durham Global Week, 28 February 2024.

"Workshop on Inclusivity in Language Teaching," co-organized with Dominique Carlini-Versini, Géraldine Crahay, Anna Johnston, and Tracey Reimann-Dawe, MLAC Staff Away Day, 19 June 2023.

"Recording Oral Exams with Audacity," MLAC Staff Training Event, 26 April 2023.

"Gender-Inclusive Practices in French and Italian Language Classrooms," with Dominique Carlini-Versini, Durham Conference: Where Are We Now? The Location of Modern Languages and Cultures, 19–21 April 2023.

Panel Organizer for "Trans, Non-binary, and Gender Non-conforming (Language) Pedagogies in Higher Education," Durham Conference: Where Are We Now? The Location of Modern Languages and Cultures, 19–21 April 2023.

"Queering the Italian and Modern Languages Syllabi: Toward a Queer Language Pedagogy and Intersectional Teaching Practices," LGBTQ+ History Month talk, MLAC Staff Training Event, 8 February 2023.

"TELEVIC and Interpreting Suite equipment" with Jin Huang, MLAC Staff Training Event, 29 September 2023.

"ɜ is the Magic Number/Letter/Phoneme or Why Teach Our Students the 'Long/Plural Schwa': Queer Language Pedagogy (QLP) and 'Comprehensive' Italian," Queer(ing) Contemporary Italian Cultures Conference, University of Toronto, 1 April 2022.

"Pedagogia femminista, lingua e genere: spunti per (per)corsi inclusivi," Keynote respondent, University of Virginia, 20 September 2022.

"Using Interactive, Formative Assessment Tools in the Language Classroom," MLAC Staff Training Event, 16 November 2022.

"Glocal Pedagogies," Teaching & Learning Faculty Reading Group, 2 February 2022.

"Queering the Italian and Modern Languages Syllabi: LGBTIQ and Feminist Annotations Toward a Queer Language Pedagogy," Teacher Training Day, Teaching Diversity in the Italian Classroom, King’s College London, 30 June 2020.

"Sanako Testing," Language Laboratory Software 'Show and Share' event, Modern Languages Teaching Centre CPD Training, University of Sheffield, 21 September 2018.

"Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) Technologies: Using Smartboard, Prometheus, and ProWise Interfaces in a Language Class," Modern Languages Teaching Centre CPD Workshop, University of Sheffield, 12 October 2017.

Invited Speaker at the AHRC QuIR Workshop on LGBTQIA Identities and Italian Media with the paper "An All-Italian Game of Thrones: A Social Media Investigation of Maria de Filippi’s 'Gay Male' Version of Uomini e Donne," The City University of New York Graduate Centre and La Casa Italiana, New York, 14–15 September 2017.

"Putting Italian on the Map…or Rather on Facebook," Teachers Together Conference, University of St Andrews, 19 June 2015.

"Touching Italian: Investigating the Collaborative Impact of Multi-User/Multi-Touch Technology in Language Classrooms," with Boscolo, C., Clay, R., and Cowan, B.R., 10th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Birmingham, June 2013.

"Be SMART with Your Interactive WhiteBOARD!" with Boscolo, C., poster presentation, 8th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Birmingham, UK, July 2011.

• Action-oriented and Glocal Pedagogies
• Language Pedagogy
• Technology-enhanced Language Teaching and Learning
• Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Language Education
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
• Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Queer Studies
• Cultural Studies
• Media Studies
• Audio-visual translation

• 2019: Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Accademy:

Chapter in book

• Malici, L. (2024). Queering the Italian and Modern Languages Syllabi: Toward a Queer Language Pedagogy and Intersectional Teaching Practices. In G. Guarnieri (Ed.), The Art of Teaching Italian (216-233). Georgetown University Press
• Malici, L. (2021). Hixstory Repeating? Italian Trans Televisibility through Realism, Family, Catholicism and Violence. In D. Gallo Gonzalez (Ed.), Trans* Time. Projecting Transness in European (TV) Series (81-108). Campus
• Malici, L. (2020). An all Italian Game of Thrones: A Social Media Investigation of Maria de Filippi’s Gay Male Version of the ‘Trash’, Dating Show Uomini e Donne. In J. Heim, & S. Anatrone (Eds.), Queering Italian Media (97-132). Lexington
• Malici, L. (2015). Giacomo Leopardi’s Zibaldone of (Queer) Thoughts. In F. Camilletti, & P. Cori (Eds.), Ten Steps: Critical Inquiries on Leopardi (277-308). Peter Lang
• Malici, L. (2014). Queer TV Moments and Family Viewing in Italy. In C. Bertone, & M. Pallotta-Chiarolli (Eds.), Queering Families of Origin (188-210). Routledge
• Malici,  . (2013). Queer u Italiji: Talijanska televidljivost I 'pokvirljiva' publika. In L. Downing, & R. Gillett (Eds.), Queer u Europi. Zagreb Pride
• Malici, L. (2012). Italian S-queer Eyes: Surveying and Voicing Television Representations. In S. Antosa (Ed.), Queer Crossings: Theories, bodies, texts (105-122). Mimesis
• Malici, L. (2011). Queer in Italy: Italian Televisibility and the ‘Queerable’ Audience. In L. Downing, & R. Gillett (Eds.), Queer in Europe: Contemporary Case Studies (113-128). Ashgate Publishing

Journal Article

• Malici, L. (2014). Queer TV Moments and Family Viewing in Italy. Journal of GLBT family studies, 10(1-2), https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428x.2014.857234