Faculty Accomplishments

Was invited to speak at a Career Panel at Harvard University’s Department of Romance languages on April 19, 2021.

Was invited to deliver a lecture at the University of Illinois Chicago titled "School as Family, and Magazines as Social Media: A Nineteenth Century Girl’s Education” on February 26, 2021.

Frau, O. (23 October 2020) Un rompicapo incompleto: il triangolo Antelling, De Gubernatis, Serao fra mentoring e documenti inediti [An Unfinished Puzzle: the Antelling, De Gubernatis, Serao Triangle between Mentoring and Unpublished Documents], Presented at the Ottocentismi: Inaugural Symposium of the Interdisciplinary Network for Nineteenth-Century Italian Studies (INNCIS), Seton Hall U. (delivered on Zoom)

Invited to deliver a lecture at the University of Rome La Sapienza on December 12, 2019, titled "Un 'Cuore' in esilio. Le memorie di Mantea” [An Exiled ‘Heart’. Mantea’s memoir”].

Ombretta Frau and Sabra Thorner led a gallery talk in the Mount Holyoke Art Museum on “The Afterlives of Objects” on November 7, 2019.

Ombretta Frau and Morena Svaldi held a workshop for teachers at the NEMLA conference in Springfield on October 25, 2019. The title of the workshop was "Learn In-Context Around Campus.”

Just completed a series of film screenings in 22 African countries from October 19 – 25, 2020, with the goal of getting African stories back to Africans and summed up in the phrase: “Some say we are made of flesh and blood but we believe we are made of stories.” 

Gave a talk at Google headquarters in Seattle on October 19, 2019. He also had a screening and Q&A at University of Washington and a screening at the Langston Hughes cultural Center in Seattle in October, 2019.

Was a performer, arranger, and audio engineer for the Young@Heart Chorus fundraising concert and CD launch entitled "Miss You" held on Zoom on October 3rd. The event raised $100,000 to replace the revenue lost when Y@H was forced to cancel their two area performances due to the pandemic. Featuring appearances by Paul Shaffer, Larry David, Steve Buscemi, David Byrne, Los Lobos, Jim James, Edie Falco, John Berman of CNN, and Hoda Kotb & Jenna Bush-Hager of NBC, the concert is available for viewing here: https://youtu.be/Mvszs1Gf48E

Performed with the Young@Heart Chorus, the Springfield SciTech Band, and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players on November 16, 2019 at the Academy of Music in Northampton. In addition, Mark was commissioned by Y@H to write seven arrangements for the chorus and the SSO players, including "Medley from Bizet's CARMEN," "Kiss" by Prince, "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town" by Pearl Jam, and Bob Dylan's "Forever Young."