Il ricevimento si svolge il giovedi dalle ore 16:30 alle 18:30 nell'ufficio di cinese in Via Santa Reparata, secondo piano, stanza 215. E' possibile svolgere il ricevimento durante questo orario anche online.
Si prega di prenotarsi via email entro il giorno precedente scrivendo a valentina.pedone@unifi.it
La ricerca di Valentina Pedone si concentra sulle lingue e culture delle comunità cinesi dentro e fuori la Cina, con particolare attenzione ai processi migratori verso l’Italia e l’Europa.
Dal punto di vista sociolinguistico, analizza fenomeni di bilinguismo, contatto linguistico, mantenimento della lingua d’origine, codeswitching e scelte linguistiche tra immigrati cinesi e seconde generazioni in Italia. Sul piano culturale, i suoi studi indagano la costruzione identitaria, le dinamiche religiose, di genere ed etniche, nonché la produzione artistica e letteraria sino-italiana. Un ulteriore ambito di interesse riguarda l’orientalismo italiano, la rappresentazione dei cinesi e dei sino-italiani nella cultura mainstream e il discorso culturale cinese sulla migrazione in Europa.
Ha partecipato e coordinato progetti di ricerca finanziati a livello regionale e nazionale, tra cui studi sulla mobilità sociale a Prato, sulla religione tra migranti (PRIN) e sugli aspetti culturali della migrazione cinese in Italia. I risultati di oltre dieci anni di ricerca sono confluiti nel volume A Journey to the West: Observations on the Chinese Migration to Italy (Firenze University Press, 2013; edizione cinese, Zhejiang University Press, 2015).
Attualmente si occupa della produzione letteraria e artistica di autori e artiste di origine cinese in Italia e ha da poco pubblicato un’antologia critica di testi sino-italiani. È co-direttrice della collana scientifica Florientalia Asian Studies Series.
La sua attività didattica comprende struttura della lingua cinese in prospettiva comparativa, letteratura cinese contemporanea e traduzione letteraria.
Studiosa di studi sinologici, migrazioni cinesi in Italia, identità sino-italiane, produzione culturale sinofona e dinamiche linguistiche e identitarie nei contesti diasporici.
Formazione
Dottorato di ricerca (2006) Storia e Civiltà dell’Asia Orientale Dipartimento di Studi Orientali, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”
Laurea in Lingua e Letteratura Cinese (1999) Dipartimento di Studi Orientali, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”
Incarichi Accademici
Attività Didattica
Supervisione Dottorale
Insegnamenti (Laurea Magistrale)
Insegnamenti (Laurea Triennale)
Incarichi Istituzionali
Progetti di Ricerca Finanziati
2023–2026
Ecco-Italy (Education of Children of Chinese Origin) — Ministero dell’Istruzione
Il Mediterraneo attraverso gli occhi cinesi (960–1911) — Ministero dell’Istruzione
2021
VulCa 2021 — Canada-Italy Innovation Award
2014–2017
Migrazioni, legami familiari e appartenenza religiosa — Ministero dell’Istruzione
2012
Essere cinesi a Prato — Regione Toscana
2003
Seconda generazione di immigrati in Italia — Ministero del Welfare
Borse di Studio
Affiliazioni Scientifiche
Conferenze e Invited Talks (Selezione)
Interventi presso: University of Vienna, University College Cork, Kansai University, New York University, Wenzhou University, UCLA, Stony Brook University, University of Toronto, Harvard University. Temi principali: identità sino-italiane, produzione culturale migrante, codeswitching, buddhismo diasporico, orientalismo, razzismo anti-asiatico.
Terza Missione e Public Engagement
Legenda
Valentina Pedone's research focuses on the languages and cultures of Chinese communities within and beyond China, with particular attention to Chinese migration to Italy and Europe.
From a sociolinguistic perspective, her work investigates bilingualism, language contact, heritage language maintenance, codeswitching, and language choice among Chinese immigrants and second-generation youth in Italy. From a cultural studies standpoint, she examines identity construction, religion, gender, ethnicity, and artistic and literary production among people of Chinese heritage in Italy. Her research also addresses Italian Orientalism, the representation of Chinese and Chinese-Italians in mainstream Italian culture, and Chinese cultural discourse on migration to Europe.
Her early research explored identity and language use among youth of Chinese origin in Italy, leading to long-term fieldwork collaborations with Wenzhou University (PRC). She has participated in and coordinated several funded research projects at regional and national levels, including studies on social mobility in Prato, religion among migrants in Italy (PRIN project), and the cultural impact of Chinese migration. The results of over a decade of research were published in her monograph A Journey to the West: Observations on the Chinese Migration to Italy (Firenze University Press, 2013; Chinese edition, Zhejiang University Press, 2015).
Her current research focuses on literary and artistic production by people of Chinese origin in Italy, and she is working on a critical anthology of Sino-Italian texts. She is co-director of the peer-reviewed book series Florientalia Asian Studies Series.
Her teaching includes Chinese language structure (comparative approach), contemporary Chinese literature, and literary translation, with publications in teaching materials for Chinese language and translation studies.
EDUCATION
- 2006 Phd,HistoryandCivilizationsofEastAsia, Department of Oriental Studies, University of Rome, “La Sapienza”.
- 1999 M.A. & B.A. Chinese language and literatures, Department of Oriental Studies, University of Rome, La Sapienza
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
- 2019-30 National Academic Qualification as Full Professor, Ministry of Education, Italy
- 2015-now Associate professor, DepartmentofEducation,Languages,Intercultures,LiteraturesandPsychology, University of Florence
- 2010 – 2015 Assistant professor, Department of Languages,LiteraturesandInterculturalStudies, University of Florence
- 2010 – 2011 Adjunctprofessor, Departmentoflanguages,UniversityforforeignersofSiena
- 2008 – 2011 Adjunctprofessor, Department of languages, Rome UNINT University
- 2006 – 2010 Adjunctprofessor, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”
- 2006 – 2010 Post-doc, Department of Foreign Languages,UniversityofUrbino “Carlo Bo”
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Phd supervision
- 2018-now, principal supervisor of five doctoral candidates in Chinese studies, University of Florence
Graduate courses
- 2010-now, Chinese language and literature, University of Florence
- 2010-2011, Chinese contemporary history, University for Foreigners of Siena
Undergraduate courses
- 2010-now Chinese language I, II, III, University of Florence
- 2010-2019 Chinese literature I, II, University of Florence
- 2008-2011 Chinese language and translation, Rome UNINT University
- 2006-2010 Chinese literature I, II, III, University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”
ACADEMIC SERVICE
- 2020-now Graduate program coordinator for the MA in Languages and Civilizations of Asia and Africa, University of Florence.
- 2021-now Coordinator of the interdepartmental Research Unit SILC (Sino-Italian Links and Crossroads), University of Florence.
- 2018-now Delegate for internationalization of the DepartmentofEducation,Languages,Intercultures,LiteraturesandPsychology, University of Florence.
- 2018- now Coordinator of five agreements of Cultural and Scientific cooperation between the DepartmentofEducation,Languages,Intercultures,LiteraturesandPsychology, University of Florence with the following Universities: Tongji University (PRC), Hanoi University (Vietnam), Beijing University (PRC), Wenzhou University (PRC), Zhejiang Yuexiu University (PRC).
- 2013-now, co-editor in chief of the volume series Florentalia East Asian Studies Series, Firenze University Press
PROFESSIONAL HONORS, AWARDS, GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
- 2023-2025 Grant. Italian Ministry of Education, project title: “Ecco-Italy (Education of Children of Chinese Origin)”
- 2023-2026 Grant. Italian Ministry of Education, project title: “The Mediterranean through Chinese Eyes: An Analysis Based on Geographical and Travel Sources from the Song to Qing Dynasties (960–1911)”
- 2021 Award. Canada-Italy Innovation Award, title of the awarded project: “VulCa 2021: Vulnerability and Care during Covid-19-induced Anti-Asian Racism and Violence in Italy and Canada”
- 2014-2017 Grant. Italian Ministry of Education, project title: “Migrations, family ties and religious belonging”
- 2012 Grant. Tuscany Regional Government, project title: “To be Chinese in Prato”
- 2003 Grant. ItalianMinistryofWelfare, project title: “Second generation of immigrants in Italy”
- 2001-2002 Scholarship. Fulbright, spent at Indiana University (USA)
- 1997-1999 Scholarship. Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spent at Beijing Language and Culture University (PRC)
MEMBERSHIP
- EACS (European Association of Chinese Studies)
- AISC (Associazione Italiana Studi Cinesi)
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
- ACLA (American Comparative Literature Association)
- SSS (Society of Sinophone Studies)
RECENT SELECTED TALKS AND CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
Invited talks
- 2023. Ethnicity representation in Sino-Italian Cultural Production, University of Vienna.
- 2020. “Tong-men-g:AnItalianSinophoneplaydevelopedinthePratesecommunity”, University College Cork.
- 2019. “BetweenaRockandaHardPlace:HowChineseItalianCulturalProductsChallengeCultural Essentialism”, Kansai University.
- 2018. “MadeinItalyorMadeinChina.Chinese-ItalianCulturalIdentitiesintheAge of Migration and Globalization.” (with Gaoheng Zhang), New York University.
- 2014. “Cultural products of Chinese migration to Italy” (keynote speaker at The 5th Wenzhouese diaspora symposium), Wenzhou University.
Conference participation
- 2025. “Bored Teenagers: The Late 1990s Beijing Pun Rock Scene”, Phenomenology of Punk and Post Punk, University of Salerno.
- 2019. “Codeswitching as an Identity Defining Strategy in the Italian Sinophone Play “Tong Men-g”, SinophoneStudies:InterdisciplinaryPerspectivesandCriticalReflections, UCLA.
- 2018. “Selfnarrationasa‘socialaction’intheworksoftheSinoitalianauthorHuLanbo”.ItalyandEast Asia, Stony Brook University.
- 2018. “Buddhism with Wenzhouese Characteristics: Negotiating New Identities in the Migrant Context”. NewUrbanIdentities(organizedbyUniversityofFlorence,CorkCityCollege,UCBerkeley),University of Florence.
- 2016. “FromaGalaxyFar,FarAway:OrientalisminDocumentariesaboutChineseinItaly”.Italy and China, University of Toronto.
- 2016. “LanguageandidentityintheChinese-ItalianplayTongmen-g,Bronzegate/Samedream”.ACLA annual meeting, Harvard University.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
- 2023. Co-organizer of Peng Shuai Paolo’s art exhibition “Geneulogia”, Rome.
- 2023. Co-organizer of Wong Ka Long’s art exhibition “The Witness”, Government of the Municipality of Florence, Rome.
- 2021. Co-organizer of Wong Ka Long’s art exhibition “Truly False”, Cicognini Public School, Prato.
- 2019-2021-2022. Co-organizer of “Festival Seta", Festival of Chinese-Italian culture inPrato(Italy), Government of the Municipality of Prato, Prato.
- 2021. Producer and scientific supervisor of “Racism is a virus”, a documentary on Covid-19 related Asian hate in Italy and Canada, Florence/Vancouver.
- 2019. Co-organizer of Chen Xi’s Art exhibition “Magic in everyday life”, Cicognini Public High School, Prato.
- 2019. Co-organizer of “Jewish refugees in Shanghai”, photo exhibit, ConfuciusInstituteUniversityofFlorence,theCenterofJewishStudiesinShanghai,the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, Florence.
- 2018. Co-organizer, Wong Ka Long’s art exhibition “The Impossible Black Tulip”, Cicognini Public School, Government of the Municipality of Florence, Florence.
- 2018. Jury member for the literary contest “Cinarriamo”, Orientalia Publishing, Rome.
- 2015-17. Interpreterand mediator for Chinese immigrant families in Italian public schools, Rome
- 2016. Team member in the consultation for thenational curriculum for Chinese culture in Italian secondary level public school, Italian Ministry of Education, Rome.
