The Department of Romance and Classical Studies is very pleased to celebrate Maria Silva, Italian Minor in RCS, for her fully-funded acceptance to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Ph.D. Program in Italian. This program is notable for having a large focus on interdisciplinary studies, i.e. bridging art history with Italian language and culture, something for which Maria holds a great interest.

Maria’s research interests involve how Italy’s rich artistic traditions have impacted the rest of the world, specifically Italian textiles and their contributions to the modern fashion industry and economy.  Though open to a wide range of possibilities following completion of her Ph.D., Maria is very interested in working with the Italian textile industry, such as with an historic textile mill or as a sustainability consultant for one of Italy’s clothing brands. She is also interested in the possibility of using indistry connections to increase the availability of affordable sustainable textiles globally.

During Maria’s time at MSU, she was a STARR Scholar and majored in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology via Lyman Briggs, with minors in both Italian and Beverage Science (for which she completed a Co-op at E&J Gallo in Fresno California). During her STEM studies, she learned about the existence of micro plastics and the other environmental concerns connected to textile production and the current global fashion economy. It was after taking a course on fashion marketing while studying abroad in Milan that Maria began to see the many links between science, textiles, fashion, and Italian. 

Romance and Classical Studies is very proud to celebrate Maria’s success, and wishes her well in her continuing endeavors!