Biography

I am a political theorist with research interests that span the history of political thought, continental political theory, liberalism and existentialism. I am also particularly interested in how certain political experiences defy state boundaries, so my work frequently crosses over into research on international relations, especially international ethics, international political theory, and human rights.
I received my Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in December 2008. My dissertation inquires into the political significance of Karl Jaspers’ concept of boundary situation, and specifically the significance of the situations of suffering, struggle, and guilt.
In the dissertation, I argue that these situations disorient us from our familiar ways, and may reorient us to creatively re-crafting personal and political relationships by way of communication and action with others.
During my time at the EUI I will turn the dissertation into a book manuscript, and I intend to bring Jaspers’s insights to bear more explicitly on global politics. In particular, I will study how situations he considers inescapable and defining of the human condition (suffering, struggle, guilt) are mediated differently across cultural universes.
I have been teaching at the University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, and Columbia University classes in political theory, international relations, and philosophy. I hold a B.A. (laurea) in philosophy from the University of Milan, where I wrote a thesis on Judith Shklar and the liberalism of fear.