Jessica L. Harris

Assistant Professor

St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Ph.D., History, University of California, Los AngelesM.A., History, University of California, Los Angeles M.A., Afro-American Studies, University of California, Los AngelesB.A., History, University of California, Los Angeles

Jessica L. Harris is a scholar of African-American History, 20th century U.S. and the World, Black Europe, Women’s History, and Modern Italy, with a particular interest in gender and race, their intersection with material culture, and the subsequent effect on group identities. Her current book project is a transnational cultural history on race and gender relations in Italy and the United States. Placing women at the center of analysis, the book employs the methodological approaches of critical race studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and post-colonial studies to examine the presence of African American women in 20th century Italian television, film, music, and fashion.

BOOKS

Italian Women’s Experiences with American Consumer Culture, 1945-1975: The Italian Mrs. Consumer. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.

ARTICLES

“Una rivoluzione sul piccolo schermo?: Le donne afroitaliane nelle fiction televisive italiane contemporanee.” Imago. Studi di cinema e media, n. 19, I semestre 2019: 153-164.

“‘In America è vietato essere brutte’: Advertising American Beauty in the Italian Women’s Magazine Annabella, 1945-1965.” Modern Italy22 (1): 35-53.

“Noi Donneand Famiglia Cristiana: Communists, Catholics, and American Female Culture in Cold War Italy.” Carte Italiane2 (11): 93-114.