Who is Ivana Di Siena?

Job title and department: Italian Instructor in the French and Italian Department located in Peters Hall.

What does your job entail? I teach Italian at all levels and I sponsor private readings and Winter Term projects on all subjects: language, literature, cinema, history, art, politics, travel, culture, geography, pop culture, opera, Italian-American culture, etc. My specialties are Italian cinema and contemporary history. This semester I offer Italian 101, Italian 102, and Italian 204.

How long have you been at Oberlin? I have been teaching at Oberlin for 22 years. My first semester at Oberlin was in the Spring of 1999, when I was hired to teach one class. I teach five classes per year now.

Hobbies or personal interests? I love to cook! I like hiking, reading, watching movies, and spoiling my cat, Meatloaf. Meatloaf is the mascot of my classes and my students follow his adventures during the semester. I also play soccer with my students, but not since fall 2019 :-(

Nickname(s)? I am known simply as professoressa.

Favorite food? My favorite foods are rapini and persimmons.

Favorite Quote? One of my favorite quotes is a Japanese proverb: "Even monkeys fall from trees."