Inserra Chair
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences
The Inserra Endowed Chair is devoted to the promotion of Italian culture with particular emphasis to its meaning and relevance in the international scene, and especially in the U.S. and in New Jersey, as a result of people’s migrations and exchanges of ideas, practices, and goods over the centuries.
- Social Media
- fiorete@montclair.edu
- Schmitt Hall Room 241D
About Inserra
Welcome to the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, affiliated with the Italian Program and housed in the Department of Global Cultural Studies at Montclair State University.
The Theresa and Lawrence R. Inserra Endowed Chair was created through a major gift of Lawrence R. Inserra, Jr. and thanks to the support of Italian American organizations and individual donors.
This endowed position is devoted to the promotion of Italian culture with particular emphasis to its meaning and relevance in the international scene, and especially in the U.S. and in New Jersey, as a result of people’s migrations and exchanges of ideas, practices, and goods over the centuries.
Besides teaching and conducting research as part of the regular university position attached to the Inserra Chair, a central responsibility includes the development of research activities and educational initiatives vital to the continued growth of Italian and Italian American Studies at Montclair State University. The Chair offers a regular series of free cultural programs that serve both Montclair students and faculty and the residents of the NY/NJ area at large. Since 2011, major artists and scholars from Italy and the U.S. have presented shows, lectures, exhibits, films, dance performances, etc. on a wide array of Italian/Italian American themes (the Humanistic Legacy; Migrations; Futurism; Slow Food) in disciplines as diverse as visual arts, film, theater, music, fashion, art history, design, nutrition, and history.
Join us for a rich program of Italian and Italian American cultural activities at Montclair State University, other venues in New Jersey, or online!
Meet the Inserra Chair
Teresa Fiore is a scholar shuttling between Italy and the United States: she intertwines academic research, creative projects, and cultural commitments within a transnational vision. A professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey, she has also taught at Harvard, Yale and NYU. Her studies on migration from/to Italy and the post/colonial experience have received Fulbright, Rockefeller and NEH funding. Author of the book Pre-Occupied Spaces: Remapping Italy’s Transnational Migrations and Colonial Legacies (Fordham 2017/Mondadori, 2021), she has published in multiple languages in magazines, catalogs and edited volumes about Italian migrations and colonialism.
She teaches a popular class titled “Italian Americans in Film” and has published papers on films and directors focusing on past and current forms of Italian mobility, including from and to Sicily. On campus she organizes regular film screenings and debates, as part of a multi-disciplinary cultural programming. In 2019 she was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy for her work in cultural diplomacy between Italy and the United States. in 2025, she coordinated four multi-media projects for Agrigento 2025 Italian Capital of Culture as part of an initiative called SPONDE.
Inserra News
Contact Us
The Inserra Endowed Chair is devoted to the promotion of Italian culture with particular emphasis to its meaning and relevance in the international scene, and especially in the U.S. and in New Jersey, as a result of people’s migrations and exchanges of ideas, practices, and goods over the centuries.
- fiorete@montclair.edu
- Schmitt Hall Room 241D