Sicilian Studies: A Guide and Syllabus for Educators - Paperback

by Jacqueline Alio (Author), Louis Mendola (Author)

This is the first book in English dedicated to Sicilian studies (Sicilianistics), namely the history, culture and literature of Sicily. Authored by two leading Anglophone Sicilian scholars based in Palermo, it presents a general outline for the study of Sicily. Though intended as a guide for educators, including university professors, it is a useful introduction for anybody seeking accurate information about the island and its people. Organized by topic, it presents a concise history, with chapters on literature (including the Sicilian language), arts, music, cinema and other subjects. It also addresses multiculturalism, feminism (women's studies), Sicilianism, and historiography, providing the reader with references for further reading. Since its publication in 2018, this slender volume has found a readership among Sicilian descendants in Anglophone countries who may not be proficient in Italian. It is a good springboard to further study.

Author Biography

Jacqueline Alio is one of Sicily's leading historians, and part of a new wave that is writing the history of Sicily's women. Over the last decade, she has been consulted by The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and other media. An accomplished medievalist, she has published the results of her original research while writing insightful articles for a general readership. Online, her articles have captivated millions, gaining her a special place as one of the Sicilian historians with the most readers around the world. In print, scholarly works like her translation of the Ferraris Chronicle have earned her kudos in academic circles. Margaret Queen of Sicily, the first biography of that regent, is the lengthiest published work of original scholarship written in English by a historian in Sicily. She co-authored the first book in English to outline the emerging field of Sicilian Studies. Her most recent book, the result of years of research, is a compendium of biographies of the queens of Sicily into the middle of the 13th century.
Louis Mendola is one of Sicily's foremost medievalists, and one of the very few whose work is known beyond Italian borders. His first scholarly paper (on the Battle of Benevento of 1266) was published in 1985; others consider such topics as the history of the medieval Normans in Sicily. He wrote the first book covering the entire seven-century history of the Kingdom of Sicily, and the first English translations of two chronicles of the thirteenth century. Having researched in Italy, Britain, Spain, Germany, France and the Vatican, he has been consulted by The History Channel, the BBC and The New York Times. Read by millions internationally, his online articles have made him one of the most popular Sicilian historians of the present century.