Frank Pellicone

Visiting Lecturer in Cinema & Media Studies and Italian

Frank Pellicone received his doctorate from Yale University in the Department of Italian Language and Literature. His academic work has focused on Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio; Italian influences on Elizabethan Drama; and Italian/American culture. For twenty years Frank served as the Harrison College House Dean, the largest of Penn’s academic residences. In addition to his administrative responsibilities at Penn, Frank taught in the English and Italian Departments courses in Cinema, Medieval and Renaissance Literature and Italian-American studies, with some of his most popular courses: “Blood, Sweat, and Pasta: Italian-American Literature” and “A Cinema We Couldn’t Refuse: Italians in American Film.” He currently serves on the board of nonprofits commited to the arts in Philadelphia and student wellness thoughout the country and as Director of Community Engagement for a nonprofit committed to delivering on the promise of equal access to justice for all Philadelphians.

Research Interests

Cinema, Medieval and Renaissance Literature and Italian-American Studies