Mariolina Salvatori

Mariolina Salvatori is an associate professor emerita. 

Her research is at the intersection of hermeneutics, composition, literacy, and pedagogy. She is particularly interested in exploring the transactions of knowledge and the relations between teachers, students, and texts that different theories of reading make possible.

Her publications include "Pedagogy: From the Periphery to the Center"; "On Behalf of Pedagogy," "If on a winter's night a traveler: Writer's Authority/Reader's Autonomy," "Conversations with Texts," "Difficulty: The Great Educational Divide," The Scholarship of Teaching: Beyond the Anecdotal," "Porque no puedo decir mi cuento: Mexican Ex-votos' Iconographic Literacy," Pedagogy: Disturbing History 1819-1929, The Elements (and Pleasures) of Difficulty (co-authored with Patricia Donahue).

The research she represents on her website explores the cultural and historical significance (especially for immigrants) of Catholic devotional objects such as immaginette (prayer cards that depict saints) and ex votos (depictions of vows that were answered with miracles). Her website explains her investment and approach to this project and offers many photos of the artifacts she is studying. 

Mariolina joined the English Department in 1981 and retired in 2013.

Books:

The Elements (and Pleasures) of Difficulty (Longman, 2004)

Pedagogy: Disturbing History 1819-1929 (Uuniversity of Pittsburgh Press, 1996)