Dr. Francesca Southerden

Biography

Francesca Southerden is a Tutorial Fellow and Lecturer in Italian at Somerville College and St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford. She holds a BA (Honours) in Italian and French from Somerville College, Oxford, and a D.Phil in Italian literature from Hertford College, Oxford. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor of Italian Medieval-Renaissance Studies at Wellesley College, MA from 2010 to 2016, and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Somerville College from 2007 to 2010. Her research primarily focuses on medieval Italian poetry, with a particular emphasis on Petrarch's lyric poetry and Dante's Commedia. In her recent monograph, 'Dante Petrarch Garden Language' (Legenda, 2022), Southerden explores the significance of gardens in the context of Dante and Petrarch's works. She is also interested in the intersection of literature with critical theory, affect studies, ecocriticism, queer theory, and lyric studies from the Middle Ages to the present day, with ongoing projects that examine ecological approaches to medieval lyric poetry. She engages graduate students on topics related to thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italian literature and culture, fostering interdisciplinary projects.

Research Interests

Experience