Valerie McGuire earned her PhD in Italian Studies from New York University. Her research interests integrate Italian Studies and History and investigate issues of national identity, Italian empire, citizenship and migration from the Italian unification to the present. She has been a visiting scholar of Italian and Mediterranean history at the University of Aegean (Rhodes, Greece) while holding a Fulbright Scholarship to Greece, as well as while holding a Max Weber postdoctoral position at the European University Institute in Florence. She has taught Italian language and culture courses at San Francisco State University and Chabot Community College, as well as at New York University and Pace University in New York City. You can read more about her research and interests on her web site, www.valerie-mcguire.com