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Crystal J. Hall

Assistant Professor of Italian

2062 Wescoe Hall
785.864.9063
hallc@ku.edu

Curriculum Vitae

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PhD University of Pennsylvania (2008)
MA University of Pennsylvania (2005)
BA Cornell University (2003)

Professor Hall’s main research interest is Galileo and the culture of his lifetime (1564-1642).  After spending time in the archives and libraries of Florence, she has updated the catalog of books that Galileo would have had in his personal collection, over 600 volumes.  These titles cover the most popular works of the late Renaissance and Medieval period as well as obscure authors that are only now being rediscovered.  Her research is concerned with questions of the influence of science on poetry, and the ways in which fictional compositions (poems, plays, or novels) could provide rhetorical strategies to scientists that would persuade audiences of the legitimacy of their scientific hypotheses.  She is currently working on one aspect of this question in her book Starry Knights: Galileo and His Literary Heroes.

Professor Hall teaches courses on Italian literature from its origins to the present.  In addition to giving her students broad exposure to authors, literary movements, and interpretative problems of various works, her courses are designed to help students become effective writers and speakers.  Course readings are chosen to spark debate and invite discussion.  The Introduction to Italian Literature series covers questions as diverse as what defines an individual to the dubious possibility of establishing a true interpretation of past events.  Professor Hall also frequently teaches courses on Dante’s Divine Comedy and Italian Renaissance literature.  Texts from these periods have a surprising amount of perspective to offer on the issues we face today.

Professor Hall is always happy to discuss Italy, Italian, the major or the minor, and study abroad.  Please email for an appointment: hallc@ku.edu.

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