Dr Arianna Bassetti, BA, MA, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Profile

I first joined Queen Mary in 2009 to study for a BA in Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature. After graduating with First Class Honours and five prizes for outstanding achievement, I went on to complete an MA in Comparative Literature at UCL. I then gained international experience through a Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission and as a translator in Madrid.

I returned to Queen Mary in 2016 to undertake my PhD under the supervision of Professor Omar García, supported by a QMUL Postgraduate Research Studentship. My thesis examined a selection of non-fiction graphic novels in English, Spanish, French, and Italian, comparing them with testimonial cultural production in other media while focusing on the unique expressive capacities of comics’ spatial form. I presented my research at a number of international conferences, including those of the American Comparative Literature Association, the Sociedad Española de Literatura General y Comparada, and the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland. I also co-organised the Graduate Forum at the School of Advanced Study.

During my PhD I discovered a passion for teaching, which led me to stay on as a Teaching Fellow after submitting my thesis. Since then, I have taught a range of language and content modules, and contributed to curriculum design, including the redevelopment of two Spanish modules for students on the “native” route.

My commitment to language pedagogy inspired me to pursue an MSc in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching at the University of Oxford. Alongside my work at Queen Mary, I have taught English for Academic Purposes at Kaplan International College London and Stafford House, and currently teach Spanish and Italian at City Lit in Central London.

My research brings together the strands of my PhD (comics, testimonial literature, and visual culture) with my new interests in applied linguistics and educational technology. My MSc dissertation explored the use of AI-generated comics in the bilingual classroom, and I continue to investigate how artificial intelligence can enhance language learning, particularly within higher education. At Queen Mary, I collaborate with the Centre for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence in Education.

Teaching

Current teaching:

• Spanish I Native
• Spanish II Native
• Spanish II

Past teaching:

• Culture and Language
• Spanish II Intensive
• The Scene of Learning
• Latin America: Key Concepts
• European Literature and its Contexts
• Men, Women, Song: Love Poetry in Medieval Iberia
• Epic Remakes: Ancient Hero(in)es and Modern Society
• Intersectional Feminist Writing

Research

Research Interests:

• Graphic narrative, testimonial literature, visual culture
• AI in language education, translanguaging

Examples of research funding:

• PhD funding: Postgraduate Research Studentship
• AHGBI Conference Grant
• BCLA Bursary
• Cambridge Long Vacation Scholarship

Publications

Bassetti, A. (in press), 'Privacy concerns in Italian comics journalism: Zerocalcare’s masks', in R. Alexander & L. Fliss (eds.) Comics Journalism and the Art of Truth. Routledge.

Bassetti, A. (2023) 'It makes my whole body hurt: Foreign language anxiety through the ages', Journal of Language Teaching, 3(5), 29-33.