Bridget Pupillo

Bridget Pupillo holds a PhD in Italian Language and Literature from Johns Hopkins University. Her doctoral research explores the intersections between the medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri and Islamic mysticism, particularly the tradition of Isra’ and Mi’raj, or the prophet Muhammad’s night journey to Jerusalem and his encounter with the divine. Professor Pupillo continues to interrogate the textual spaces in which Islam and Christianity met during Europe’s Middle Ages and Islam’s Golden Age.

An alumna of Connecticut College, Professor Pupillo joined her alma mater as an Adjunct Professor in the Italian Department and Global Islamic Studies program in Fall 2017. Since then, she has taught a variety of courses at Connecticut College, from 100-level introductory language courses to 400-level seminars. Professor Pupillo’s teaching style is communicative and collaborative; she values engagement at every level and works to foster a sense of community within the classroom.

Outside of her teaching, Professor Pupillo also works closely with several student-led clubs on campus. She has collaborated with students through the college’s Faculty-Student Engagement program on the translation of transliterated Arabic within a medieval Italian text. Beyond her role at the college, Professor Pupillo has worked on a wide variety of editing and translation projects, from academic manuscripts to sci-fi novels and a discovered trove of letters between a local Connecticut traveler and his Italian lovers during the height of Mussolini’s fascist regime.

Full Courses Taught at Connecticut College

ITL 101 Elementary Italian 1
ITL 102 Elementary Italian 2
FYS 1092 Rise of the Mafia
GIS 202/HIS 200 The Muslim World
FYS 1042 Magic and Power in Islam
ENG/GIS/GWS 384 Framing Medieval Desire (co-taught with Professor Ferhatovic)
GIS 270 The Monstrous Other
GIS 339 Mystics, Heretics, Doomsdayers
GIS 280 CC: Islam's Golden Age
GIS 220 Islam in Sicily
ITL 402 Creativity and the Modern Age
ITL/GWS 411 Witches, Wenches, and Warriors
ITL/GIS 303 Islam in the Age of Dante

1-Credit Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC) Taught at Connecticut College

ITL 100F Italian Language Exchange
GIS 270F Italian Language Conversation
GIS 339F Italian Language Conversation
GIS 280F Italian Language Conversation
GIS 220F Italian Language Conversation
GIS 102G Italian Language Conversation
ITL 411F Italian Language Conversation
ITL 303F Italian Language Conversation