Raffaele Florio, Ph.D.

EDUCATION

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Anthropological History, Religion and Folklore, The Western Narrative, Cultural Memory in rural Italy, Cultural continuity in the Italian Renaissance, Mediterranean culture study, History of Italian Magna Græcia, Renaissance Humanism, Savonarola and Disciples, Modern culture (including science and technology), Religion and Society, Humanities Education, Moral Issues (esp. globalization), Church History.

TEACHING FIELDS: Cultural History of the Mediterranean (including folklore and religion), History of Western Civilization, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, World History, Cultural Anthropology, Italian History, History and Sociology of Technology, History of Ideas, Humanities (interdisciplinary),  History of Education, Social Research Methods, Moral Philosophy,  History of Philosophy.

FIELD WORK SITES

Santa Maria di Castellabate, SA, Italy

Commune di Castellabate, SA, Italy

Paestum, SA, Italy

Florence, Italy

TEACHING EXPERIENCE 

2003 – Present

Assistant Professor of Social Sciences- Community College of Rhode Island

Western Civilization, World Religions, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Anthropology, Public Archaeology, Moral Philosophy, History of Philosophy

2000- Present

Part-time Faculty in the Humanities- Salve Regina University

Social Research Methods (graduate), History of the Humanities (graduate), Renaissance Studies, Seeking Wisdom, What it Means to Be Human, Moral Philosophy

2002- 2003

Instructor of Social Science- New England Institute of Technology

Sociology of Technology in American Life

2000 – 2003

Educational Technology Instructor- CompUtopia Inc.

Courses: professional development courses in Educational Technology for teachers at k-12 schools throughout the state of RI. I also presented new ideas concerning the use of technology in education at several national conferences.  

1999- 2000

Teacher- St. Rocco School

Courses: Writing and Literature at the 8th grade level and Religion and Church History at the 6th and 7th grade level. Also developed a Humanities Curriculum through which History is taught using Literature, Philosophy and the Arts.

1997- 1999

Teacher- Holy Ghost School

Named Teacher of the Year  in 1999.

Courses: American History, World History, Italian and Religion/Church History. 

PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS

“Geometry:” an article in Discovery and Invention: A Historical Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Science published by M.E. Sharpe. This work will be published in 2009.

“Time Keeping:” an article in Discovery and Invention: A Historical Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Science published by M.E. Sharpe. This work will be published in 2009

“Bridging the ‘Two Cultures:’ A Renaissance Reinvention”

Describes the role of the humanities in twenty-first century education and advocates a renaissance model. Currently being reviewed Journal of Contemporary Thought

“Reviving the Great Conversation: Using Raphael's School of Athens as a Model for Modern Higher Education”

Originally a conference talk (see below).  Accepted for publication in the journal History of Education, in 2009.

"Friars, Merchants, and Monks: Renaissance Fortunes and Medieval Misfortunes in 15th Century Italy" (co-authored with John Allard O.P. Ph.D)
 Proposal accepted for presentation at the 44th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 7-10, 2009
 

"il Mal'occhio: A Wary Gaze." This talk will focus on the evil eye folklore of the Mediterranean world as it survives in among contemporary Italian-Americans.

Invited speaker- Johnston Historical Society: February 25, 2009.

The School of Athens: How the Humanities Can Help Revive the Great Conversation

Traces ideas of the Italian Renaissance as they weave in and out of the modern period – through the Reformation, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and the Romantic Period

“Reviving the Great Conversation: Using Raphael's School of Athens as a Model for Modern Higher Education”

International Journal for the Humanities Conference, February 2007. Integrates my historical work with a reassessment of the place of Renaissance history in university core curricula.

“Religion and the Philosophical Study of Morality”

Seminar- Salve Regina University

“Women and the Italian Humanists: an Uneasy Relationship”

Presented at Plymouth State University’s Medieval Forum, April 2005. Critiques the opinions in Anthony Grafton and Margaret King’s “Women Humanists: Education for What?”

“Cracking the Da Vinci Code” 

Invited to speak on a panel of scholars at Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Middletown, RI to discuss the historical validity of the book The Da Vinci Code. June 2004.

“Put Venus Back in the Oyster Shell” Presented at Plymouth State University’s Medieval Forum April, 2004.  It explores the relationship between Sandro Botticelli, Lorenzo de’ Medici and Girolamo Savonarola and questions generally accepted theories that have become engrained in “pop history.”

“The Italian Exodus: Johnston, RI” This was a case study of Italian immigration done for the Johnston Historical Society, March 2001

“The Spirituality of Blessed Giovanni Battista Scalabrini for Today’s Student” Presented to the Holy Ghost Parish Communion Breakfast. May 2002

Presented Papers on Technology in Education: NECC 2002 (San Antonio) and 2003 (Seattle), New England League of Middle Schools 2002 and 2003, FETC (Orlando) 2003.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

“Cultural Memory in Magna Græcia”

This study evaluates the medieval and pre-Christian roots visible in contemporary cultural production in a small Mediterranean fishing village

“The Envious Glance: The Cultural Significance of the ‘Evil Eye’ in Southern Italian Tradition.” This traces the historical and religious roots of il Mal’occhio in Mediterranean culture and attempts to place the tradition objectively in the context of the modern narrative of the “West.”

“Medieval Medicine in the Mediterranean: The Line between East and West”

This paper will explore medical science in the Mediterranean as it confronts folklore and tradition. Special attention will be paid to the influence of Islam in southern Europe during the Middle Ages.

“Emergence of the ‘European’ in Nineteenth Century Literature”

This paper will explore the concept of European cultural identity as identified in nineteenth century literature and social science; it will also discuss the historical roots of this movement.

“An Anthropological History of an Italian town.”  

This study explores the history of the Commune of Castellabate on the Cilento Coast in the Province of Salerno.  It uses oral histories, photos and archives of the town from the first half of the twentieth century. It also includes cultural data from interviews about local legends, stories of past invasions (including the Saracens), lives of local saints, etc, in order to reconstruct a viable image of a southern Italian, medieval town. 

Translations and analysis of the Letters of St. Catherine Di Ricci- focus on Gender, Spiritually, and the Body Politic.

Blessed Giovanni Dominici and the Emergence of Humanism- What was the relationship between this Dominican friar and his contemporary humanists during the early days of the Italian Renaissance?

LANGUAGES 

Passed graduate school proficiency examinations in Italian, Spanish, and Medieval Latin  

TRAVEL/CULTURAL EXPERIENCES

I spend summers in Italy exploring the culture of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, through feasts, rituals, and material culture. During the past two years I have been studying Savonarola and his influence in Florence, the effects of Renaissance ideology on the southern contadini, and the persistence of Mediterranean culture in an otherwise European nation.

I have planned an international study program in Florence for graduate students at Salve Regina University in summer of 2009.