About
Teresa Russo is a scholar, humanist educator, curator, and artist whose work bridges academic research, museum practice, and public humanities. She serves as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature at Florida Atlantic University and Associate Curator of Adult Education, University Engagment, & Community Access at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Her interdisciplinary career spans university teaching, curatorial leadership, archival research, and international artistic practice.
Teresa has curated exhibitions in Washington, D.C., Ontario, and Niagara—including The Italian Immigrant Experience Revealed, Carmen Star: The Face Behind the Label, and Red Line—and has contributed to major museum initiatives at the Royal Ontario Museum and the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Her own paintings and drawings have been exhibited internationally in Italy, India, and the United States.
A medievalist by training, Teresa holds a PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto, with additional advanced study at Keble College, Oxford. She has taught literature, medieval studies, art history, cultural studies, material culture, and heritage studies at the University of Toronto, Brock University, the University of Guelph, American University, and The Catholic University of America. She has presented her research at Duke University, Georgetown University, Victoria College, the National Gallery of Art (London), Loyola University in Rome, and numerous cultural institutions across North America.
Teresa’s work in digital humanities includes award‑winning projects on Dante, Boccaccio, Italian‑Canadian heritage, and museum studies. She is the founder and editor of award winning, Teaching the Middle Ages (TMA) and of the Journal of Semiotics and Material Culture and has published in literary studies, diaspora studies, and public humanities.
Across all her roles—as curator, educator, researcher, and artist—Teresa is committed to making art, literature, and cultural history accessible, engaging, and meaningful for diverse audiences.
In the News
As part of the Museum’s NEA Big Read programming, the Education Department—led by Dr. David Matteson, Director of Learning and Engagement, together with his colleague Dr. Teresa Russo, Associate Curator of Adult and Community Access—will facilitate key components of this countywide initiative. Dr. Matteson is curating the exhibition accompanying A Farewell to Arms, shaping the visual narrative that connects World War I to themes of modernism and American identity. Dr. Russo will integrate the novel into the Museum’s Adult Book Club, Brushstrokes & Bookmarks, organize a Music in the Museum program featuring selections from the period, and host special lectures by Dr. Terryl Lawrence. Together, Matteson and Russo will also present public talks at libraries throughout Palm Beach County, expanding access and deepening community engagement with the Big Read.
The FAU Italian Program commemorates the 650th anniversary of Giovanni Boccaccio’s passing with a special lecture
Dr. Teresa Russo delivered a special lecture at FAU in honor of Boccaccio 650, marking the 650th anniversary of the author’s passing. The event drew an engaged audience of students, faculty, and community members, whose enthusiasm and thoughtful participation made the celebration especially meaningful. Dr. Russo shared insights into Boccaccio’s enduring legacy in medieval and Renaissance studies, expressing gratitude to all who attended and contributed to the vibrant discussion that shaped this memorable milestone in Boccaccian scholarship.
Dr. David Matteson, Director of Learning and Engagement, and Dr. Teresa Russo, Associate Curator of Adult and Community Access, will support the Museum’s expanded Wellness Program by leading teaching sessions in the galleries as part of the new mindfulness series. Their work brings together art, reflection, and guided engagement, helping visitors experience the Museum’s collection through practices that encourage calm, focus, and emotional well‑being.
Passport to the Palm Beaches
Guest of Passport to the Palm Beaches with host Jacqueline Journey, segment on Splendor and Passion at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, US, March 2025, PASSPORT TO THE PALM BEACHES BOCA MUSEUM OF ART SEGMENT 2025
ArtGras Fine Arts Festival Podcast
Guest of ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival Podcast with Sarah LaPierre, Episode 3: Art Museums, Florida, US, 2024, (Exploring Spanish Baroque Art & Women in the Art World with Rachel Gustafson and Teresa Russo)
In honor of the 650th anniversary of Giovanni Boccaccio’s passing, Dr. Teresa Russo, Associate Curator of Adult & Community Access Programs, leads a close look at Alphonse Mucha’s poster for the play Gismonda, Victorien Sardou’s 1894 drama created for and starring Sarah Bernhardt, and how it speaks to The Decameron, Boccaccio’s 14th-century cycle of one hundred tales told by ten Florentines who flee the plague.
Art in Focus Tour - Alphonse Mucha's Literary Connections, Boca Raton Museum of Art
May 9, 2022 by Christine Elstub - A&S News
A group of University of Toronto students in Dr. Teresa Russo’s Material Culture and Semiotics course received the Experiential & Work‑Integrated Learning Ontario Student of the Year Award for their innovative digital humanities project, Giovanni Boccaccio’s One Hundred Tales. Guided by Dr. Teresa Russo, the class contributed research to a virtual museum on ArcGIS StoryMaps that helps educators teach the Middle Ages through accessible, curriculum‑aligned materials. Developed in partnership with the Niagara Catholic District School Board, the resource connects The Decameron to contemporary issues such as class, gender, race, and pandemic‑era experiences. The award recognizes the project’s success in blending academic research with community‑oriented, work‑integrated learning, making medieval literature relevant and engaging for students across Ontario.
March 28, 2022 | Issue 27, Victoria College - Albert Memo
Students in the MCS223H: Signs, Meaning, and Culture course were honored with the Experiential & Work‑Integrated Learning Ontario (EWO) WIL Student of the Year Award for their contributions to the ArcGIS StoryMap project on Boccaccio’s The Decameron, designed and supervised by Dr. Teresa Russo. The project, part of Dr. Russo’s Teaching the Middle Ages through Novel Studies program—recognized by CEWIL Canada in 2020—asked students to analyze the tales through semiotics, narratology, gender theory, rhetoric, feminism, and Marxism, transforming their research into a digital resource bank for high school educators. By connecting medieval pandemic narratives with students’ own contemporary experiences, the StoryMap exemplifies impactful service‑learning and innovative digital humanities pedagogy.
Wednesday, March 09, 2022 | by Alison Innes
Students in Brock University’s Medieval and Renaissance Studies program recently participated in an in‑class academic conference led by Dr. Teresa Russo, exploring the history of sport from the Middle Ages. Over two weeks, students presented research on activities ranging from falconry and jousting to ice skating, football, and tennis, gaining experience in both conference presentation and panel moderation. Dr. Russo designed the theme to connect medieval chivalric culture with the Canada Games, and selected papers may be published on the Reading the Middle Ages Omeka site, an online platform she created to support cultural exchange and professional skill development in the Humanities.
Monday, April 25th, 2022 | University of Guelph News
Students in the University of Guelph’s HUMN3800/ITAL3800: Italian Heritage and Digital Applications course were invited to present their research at the national exhibit The Quiet Immigrant Project and the InHERitance Exhibit at the JD Carrier Gallery in Toronto. Under the guidance of Dr. Teresa Russo, students conducted oral‑history interviews with their grandmothers and transformed their work into academic posters and digital story pages, which were selected by curator Laura Libralato for inclusion in the exhibit. Their projects are also featured on the course’s new digital site, Italian Canadian Communities: Heritage, Culture, and Ethnographic Studies, created by Dr. Russo in collaboration with the Italian‑Canadian Narratives Showcase (ICNS). The national exhibit, which honors the stories of Italian women who immigrated to Canada after WWII, offers students a meaningful experiential learning opportunity, including participation in panel discussions and the public presentation of their recorded interviews.
Monday, April 05, 2021 | by The Brock News
A virtual session hosted by Brock University’s Canada Games Academic Committee that focuses on innovative assessment design. The event will highlight how faculty have integrated Canada Games themes into their courses to enhance student learning and engagement. Associate Professor Elizabeth Vlossak and Dr. Teresa Russo, Instructor in Modern Languages, are guest speakers who will present on current projects in their respective courses, demonstrating how Canada Games content has shaped assignments and classroom activities. Attendees will then participate in breakout discussions on course and assessment ideas connected to the Canada Games Teaching and Learning Grant, followed by an overview of the grant’s criteria.
Monday, March 22, 2021 | by Alison Innes
Students in Brock University’s ITAL/CANA 2P98 course, taught by Dr. Teresa Russo, were honored with the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement and Young Leaders Award for their work on the Archival Research of Italian‑Canadian Immigration and Culture Project (ARICIC). The article describes how students collaborated with peers from the University of Toronto to research, interview, and document the personal stories of Italian immigrants in Toronto and Niagara, preserving narratives that were historically at risk—especially those lost during the internment years. Under Dr. Russo’s mentorship, students explored diverse themes such as women’s wartime labor, migrant railway workers, and community life, contributing new archival materials now hosted by the Ontario Heritage Trust. Their research was first presented at the Italian Canadian Archives Project conference and has since become part of a publicly accessible digital archive, demonstrating how experiential learning, small‑class mentorship, and hands‑on archival work can produce meaningful contributions to Canadian heritage preservation.
Mar 12, 2021 | UC In the News
Students in the University College course CDN 240H1: Italian Canadian Studies were honored with the 2020 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement for their collaborative work on the Archival Research of Italian‑Canadian Immigration and Culture project. Under the guidance of course instructor Dr. Teresa Russo, students conducted archival research, interviewed members of Italian‑Canadian communities, and produced new digital records that preserve immigration stories, cultural contributions, and historical experiences. Their projects ranged from documenting anti‑Italian riots and internment‑era losses to exploring opera history, fallen workers, environmental racism, and post‑war union activity. Students from Brock University who collaborated on the initiative were also recognized. The award, presented by the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, celebrates the students’ creativity, research excellence, and contributions to preserving Italian‑Canadian heritage.
Tuesday, November 24, 2020 | by Douglas Hunt
The article features a webinar in which Brock PhD student Gianluca Agostinelli discussed his experiences as a top‑ranked junior tennis player in Canada. As part of Dr. Teresa Russo’s Canada Games Teaching and Learning Grant series, Russo interviewed Agostinelli about his career with Team Ontario and Tennis Canada, his Italian athletic background, and his return to tennis at Brock. The event, presented in partnership with the Italian Studies program and the Centre for Sport Capacity, introduced students and the Brock community to the Canadian sport industry in anticipation of the 2022 Canada Summer Games.
Monday, October 26, 2020 | by Douglas Hunt
The Italian Studies program at Brock University partnered with the Centre for Sport Capacity to host a special webinar featuring Italian‑Canadian soccer stars Paul Stalteri and Carmelina Moscato. Moderated by Dr. Teresa Russo, the event invited the Brock community to hear firsthand about the athletes’ international careers, coaching experiences, and perspectives on the sports industry in anticipation of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. Drawing on themes explored in Dr. Russo’s ITAL/CANA 2P98 course — including nationalism, immigrant communities, gender, and fan culture — the discussion connected classroom learning with real‑world leaders in Ontario’s soccer community. The webinar, supported by the Brock Canada Games Teaching and Learning Grant, marked the first session in the Centre for Sport Capacity’s new series.
Thursday, August 20, 2020 | by The Brock News
The article features an interview with Dr. Teresa Russo, Part‑time Instructor in Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Brock University, who discusses the many opportunities students will have to engage with community leaders, regional councillors, and stakeholders during the upcoming Canada Summer Games in Niagara. As supervisor of the Archival Research of Italian‑Canadian Immigration and Culture project, Dr. Russo explains how she is integrating Canada Games themes into her course on Italian immigration and Italian‑Canadian history, culture, and literature, with a particular focus on Italian‑Canadian contributions to sport. She also notes that she is co‑organizing a symposium with Professor Carmela Colella to connect Brock students directly with Italian‑Canadian athletes and professionals in the sports industry.
2020
The introduction emphasizes how heritage knowledge and experiential learning have become central in higher education and highlights Dr. Teresa Russo’s pioneering role in combining archival research, Italian‑Canadian heritage studies, and digital humanities. Sandra Parmegiani explains that many of the projects hosted on the Italian Canadian Narrative Showcase (ICNS) originate from Dr. Russo’s courses, where students learn archival methods and digital tools to create academic posters and essays that document Italian‑Canadian history. ICNS will continue to host all issues of Archival Research of Italian‑Canadian Immigration and Culture and provide best‑practice guidelines for future researchers. The introduction also notes that students involved in the project have presented at ICAP and received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement, underscoring the impact of Dr. Russo’s work on both heritage preservation and student professional development.
This OMNI TV news segment features renowned documentary photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo, whose work captures the history and lived experiences of Toronto’s Italian community. The clip highlights Pietropaolo’s recent visit to Dr. Teresa Russo’s Italian Canadian Studies course, where he spoke directly with students and members of the local community. His presentation offered an in‑depth look at his photographic practice and the cultural stories behind his images, enriching both classroom learning and community engagement.
The magazine highlights photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo, renowned for documenting the lives and stories of Italian‑Canadian communities for over five decades, and scholar Dr. Teresa Russo, whose work in Italian‑Canadian studies and archival preservation brings critical insight to the cultural history his images capture. Together, Pietropaolo’s visual storytelling and Russo’s scholarly research illuminate the experiences, memories, and heritage of Italian‑Canadian life, underscoring their shared commitment to preserving community narratives for future generations.
The news article reports on a special literary event titled, which brought together acclaimed novelist Bapsi Sidhwa and scholar Dr. Teresa Russo for a public conversation on writing, memory, and cultural history. The event highlighted Sidhwa’s long career as one of the most important voices in South Asian and diasporic literature, known for works such as Cracking India and The Crow Eaters.
A central focus of the evening was Dr. Russo’s presentation of Sidhwa’s personal letters, which she has been editing for publication.