Camilla Bambozzi

Camilla Bambozzi

Profile

I am currently a PhD candidate in Italian (Dante Studies), working under the supervision of Professor Matthew Treherne and Professor Emma Cayley. My research engages with the relationship between Dante Alighieri and his contemporary, the poet and jurist Cino da Pistoia, a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (WRoCAH) and the University of Leeds. I am also a member of the Leeds Centre for Dante Studies.    

Academia profile.

Research

The dialogue between Dante and poets contemporary to him represents a topic which has been widely studied; but what has not been fully explored is the relationship between Dante (1265–1321) and Cino da Pistoia (c. 1270–1336/37). The relationship between Dante and Cino can be reassessed around the corpus of texts they exchanged with each other – for instance, the consolatory canzone that Cino writes for the death of Beatrice, the tenzone, and Cino’s mentions in Dante’s De vulgari eloquentia – but also considering the explicit lack of exchange, which corresponds to Cino’s absence in Dante’s Commedia.

My PhD thesis will fill the gap in the scholarship, discussing the processes through which both Dante's and Cino's poetry exerted a mutual influence, and exploring how the bond between the two poets might have had an influence on the composition of Dante's Commedia. Even though many scholars have touched on aspects of these issues, there is not a comprehensive work that draws together all relevant aspects of the question. This will be achieved by focusing on two key themes which are prominent in Cino's work and poetics: love and exile.

Education

I obtained my Master’s degree in Italian Studies (Italianistica) from the University of Bologna (2019), with a thesis in Dantean Literature and Philology on the poetic encounters in the Commedia, Dante Alighieri’s major work, under the supervision of Professor Giuseppe Ledda. Previously, I graduated in Humanities (Lettere moderne) at the University of Macerata, with a BA thesis in General Linguistics, supervised by Professor Diego Poli.

  • PhD in Italian, University of Leeds, UK (2020–current), thesis title: “Dante’s dialogue with Cino da Pistoia”, supervised by Matthew Treherne (Professor of Italian Literature) and Emma Cayley (Head of School and Professor of Medieval French).
  • Permanent training course: ‘Italian literature in contemporary educational settings: cultural and didactic perspectives’, University of Bologna, Italy (2020), 30/30.
  • MA in Italian Studies (Italianistica), University of Bologna, Italy (2017–2019), dissertation title: “Dante e i poeti moderni: intertestualità metapoetica nel Purgatorio” (Dante and poets contemporary to him: meta-poetic intertextuality in Purgatorio’), supervised by Professor Giuseppe Ledda. Distinction (110 cum laude)
  • BA in Humanities (Lettere moderne), University of Macerata, Italy (2014–2017), dissertation title: “Il latino nelle innovazioni delle lingue moderne (‘Latin in the innovations of modern languages’), supervised by Professor Diego Poli. First-class honours (110 cum laude)

Certificates of attendance

  • ‘XIV International Dantean Summer School’ (July–September 2020; Catholic University of the Sacred Heart or Catholic University of Milan, University of Verona, Centro Dantesco O.F.M. Conv. di Ravenna). 
  • ‘“BiblioLab” Laboratory for bibliographical practice in Humanities (catalogue, databases, sitography)’ (October–December 2019; University of Bologna). 

Publications

Peer-reviewed

Book reviews

  • Bambozzi, Camilla, review to ‘Dante Beyond Borders: Contexts and Reception’, ed. by Nick Havely and Jonathan Katz with Richard Cooper, Cambridge, Legenda - Modern Humanities Research Association, 2021, in «Lettere Italiane», n. 74 (2022) (forthcoming).
  • Bambozzi, Camilla, review to ‘La lirica italiana. Un lessico fondamentale (secoli XIII-XIV)’, ed. by Lorenzo Geri, Marco Grimaldi and Nicolò Maldina, Rome, Carocci, 2021, in «L’Alighieri. Rassegna dantesca», n. 60 (2022) LXII (forthcoming).
  • Bambozzi, Camilla, review to ‘Dante and Violence: Domestic, Civic, Cosmic’, by Brenda Deen Schildgen, Notre Dame, Notre Dame Press, 2021, in «L’Alighieri. Rassegna dantesca», n. 59 (2022) LXII (forthcoming).
  • Bambozzi, Camilla, review to ‘Dante’s Christian Ethics’, by George Corbett, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020, in «Reading Religion» (2022).
  • Bambozzi, Camilla, review to ‘Ethics, Politics and Justice in Dante’, ed. by Giulia Gaimari and Catherine Keen, London, UCL Press, 2019, in «L’Alighieri. Rassegna dantesca», n. 56 (2021) LXI.

Research papers

  • “The dialogue between Dante and Cino da Pistoia in the light of the consolatoria’ – ‘Lunch Series, The Leeds Centre for Dante Studies’ (5 May 2022, University of Leeds).
  • “‘Cantor amoris’ and ‘cantor rectitudinis’ in Dante’s De vulgari eloquentia – ‘SIS Biennial Conference’ (20–22 April 2022; University of Warwick), Panel: ‘Dante Futures I’.
  • “Rebuilding personal and poetic identities in the Italian ‘Due-Trecento’ (13th–14th centuries)” – ‘MEMSA Seminar Series’ (31 January 2022; Durham University). 
  • “Riletture e riscritture dantesche: la ricezione della Commedia in contesti di emarginazione sociale” – ‘L’altro Dante: processi di attualizzazione della Commedia (24 November 2021; Università “G. d’Annunzio” di Chieti-Pescara), Panel: ‘Dante “popolare”’.
  • “The dialogue between Dante and Cino da Pistoia: Premises and Developments” – ‘A Centenary Celebration of New Voices in the UK and Irish Studies’ (12–13 November 2021; University of Oxford, University of Cambridge). 
  • “Il rapporto tra Dante e Cino da Pistoia: dai primi contatti alla tenzone” – ‘Alma Dante 2021, International Dante Congress’ (15–18 September 2021; University of Bologna – Campus of Ravenna), Panel: ‘Percorsi lirici’. 
  • “The Space between the Earth and the Afterlife” – ‘International Medieval Congress 2021’ (5–9 July 2021; University of Leeds. Sponsors: Leeds Centre for Dante Studies and Institute of Medieval Studies), Panel: ‘Shaping and interacting with landscapes in Dante’s Commedia, II’.
  • “Following Dante’s Path to Salvation: The Reception of the Commedia Among Social Outcasts” – ‘Dante’s Afterlives’ (24–25 June 2021; In via Dante Network; University of Leeds, University of Oxford, Leeds Centre for Dante Studies), Panel: ‘Performing Dante’.
  • “The relationship between Dante and Cino da Pistoia” – ‘LCS PGR Conference 2021: “Multilingualism, Multiculturalism and Living the Pandemic”’ (7 May 2021; University of Leeds).

Conference organisation

Chairing at conferences

  • ‘International Medieval Congress 2022’ – Sponsors: Leeds Centre for Dante Studies and Institute for Medieval Studies (5 July 2022)
  • ‘Lunch Series, The Leeds Centre for Dante Studies’ (University of Leeds; Sponsor: Leeds Centre for Dante Studies 2021/22) - Chairing and Co-Chairing
  • ‘Text and Textuality’ (15–16 July 2021; Durham University), Panel: ‘Rebuilding the Library’.

Prizes and awards

  • MA thesis awarded as “Stand out/Finalist” (“Segnalato/Finalista”) for the Price “Premio Internazionale Mario Luzi” by the “Fondazione Mario Luzi”, 15th Edition – 2019–2020, section “Magna cum laude” (2020).

PhD

  • Arts and Humanities Research Council/White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities  (AHRC/WRoCAH) Doctoral Studentship (2020)
  • University of Leeds, School of Languages, Cultures and Societies Award for the AHRC/WRoCAH Doctoral Studentship (2020)

Academic engagement and work

Member of the Leeds Centre for Dante Studies, University of Leeds, UK (2020–Current):

  • Co-host the Centre’s Dante Lunch Series consisting of an informal discussion by academic staff or PGR/ECR of a certain aspect of Dante’s work or a research project on Dante.
  • Plan, promote, and chair the Centre’s sponsored sessions at the International Medieval Congress
  • Promote the Centre’s events and activities on the website and through social media

Education Outreach Fellow, University of Leeds, UK (2021–Current):

  • Plan and deliver research skills workshops to students aged 13–19
  • Encourage students through workshops about career opportunities to raise their aspirations towards Higher Education
  • Work collaboratively with other Fellows to deliver sessions and develop resources
  • Evaluate sessions delivered, using feedback from students and teachers, to develop and improve delivery methods and content

PGR LCS Communications Intern, University of Leeds, UK (2021–current):

  • Liaising with the School’s PGR community through formal and informal channels in order to become informed about events and activities of interest
  • Creating a bi-monthly research postgraduate newsletter to welcome new and continuing PGRs and to showcase PGR activities during 2020–21
  • Encouraging fellow PGR students to contribute news and articles for publication
  • Publicising and reporting on events that take place within the LCS using the website and social media
  • Communicating key information to PGR community via social media, website and posters

Language Group Leader, Language Zone, University of Leeds, UK (2021–2022)

  • Volunteer as a Language Group Leader in the University of Leeds Language Groups Programme in Semester 2 2020/21 and 2021/22, attending training and leading a series of Italian conversation classes for a group of students to meet regularly to practise their language skills.
  • Obtained The Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR)                                                                 

Workshop: "Speak well, think well and live well. Reasons and benefits for choosing to study languages" as part of 2021/22 LEAP programme, University of Leeds, UK (8 Dec 2021.)

Library assistant, Student collaboration at University of Bologna, Italy (2019–2020):             

  • Encourage, instruct and guide students and people in the use of all the library resources.
  • Deal with enquiries from library users.
  • Research and respond to student, administrative and faculty information requests.
  • Perform general office duties.
  • Give users advice on reading materials and books.
  • Provide help to library users in the use of IT equipment and electronic resources.