Rachel Grasso

Ph.D. Candidate
rachel.grasso@mail.utoronto.ca

Campus

  • Downtown Toronto (St. George)

Areas of Interest

  • Italian Rap and Trap Music
  • Migration
  • Postcolonial Italy
  • Italian Politics
  • Identity
  • Language Pedagogy
  • The Evolution of the Italian Language
  • Italian Dialects

Working Dissertation

Title

Rapping back: Challenging Italianità in the Rap and Trap Music of G2 Italian Artists

Supervisors

Alberto Zambenedetti (Supervisor)
Angelica Pesarini (Co-supervisor)
Marcello Maneri (Supervisory member, Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca)

Description

This dissertation explores the discussion of race, religion, citizenship, language, gender, sexuality, and identity in the rap and trap music of second-generation Italian artists. This doctoral degree program is under the Joint Educational Placement Agreement with the Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca.

Biography

Rachel Grasso is pursuing her Ph.D. through the Joint Educational Placement program in collaboration with the Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca. As a Course Instructor in the Department of Italian Studies, she teaches one section of ITA100: Italian for Beginners.  She is also an Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (JICMS).  In addition, she is a co-representative for Italy in the European Hiphop Studies Network (EHHSN).

Publication:

(2020) Cara Italia: l'Esperssione Dell'identità Multiculturale Nella Musica Rap e Trap Italiana.  

Education

M.A., Italian Studies, Georgetown University
B.A., International Affairs (Minor in Italian Studies), George Washington University

Presentations

"Dear Italy: The Expression of Multicultural Identity in Italian Rap and Trap Music." Canadian Association for Italian Studies Conference. Panel: Linguistica e letteratura (Online), 12 June 2021.
“Cara Italia: l’espressione dell’identità multiculturale nella musica rap e trap italiana.” 2022 MLA Annual Convention. Panel: AATI - Resistance Italy: Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Social Justice through Contemporary Italian Music. January 8, 2022. Online.
Rapping back: Challenging Italianita' in the Rap and Trap Music of Second-Generation Italian Artists.” American Association of Teachers of the Italian International Conference, Presidential Panel - Graduate Research, Catania, Italy July 7, 2023.

Administrative Service

President, Graduate Students' Association of Italian Studies (GSAIS), 2021-2023

Cohort

  • 2020-2021