Nina Bjekovic

Nina Bjekovic holds a Ph.D. in Italian from UCLA, where she also received her MA in Italian. She serves as the Director of Language Programs at UCLA’s Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies (ELTS), specializing in language pedagogy, online teaching, curricular development, and technological methodologies. In this capacity, she oversees the language programs and the training of teaching assistants. Dr. Bjekovic integrates her linguistic and pedagogical focus with her research on Northwestern Italian literature, alongside Central European and Balkan contexts, to advance scholarship on ethnolinguistic diversity and the intersection of language and identity. Through a thoughtful focus on research and curriculum design, she aims to cultivate a comprehensive and engaging educational experience for her students.

In addition to her pedagogical research, Nina’s scholarly work centers on Northeastern Italian literature, with a particular emphasis on the city of Trieste, which serves as a pivotal case study for the complex interplay of national identity and memory. Dr. Bjekovic’s research addresses the impact of historical trauma, the experience of exile, and the fluidity of cultural identity. By examining diverse voices and generational perspectives within this literary landscape, she offers reflections on notions of alterity and belonging, with the intent to deepen the discourse on ethnopolitical relations within Central Europe and the Balkans.

Her most recent study, published in September 2024, entitled “Giuliana Morandini and The Density of Transience,” appears in an edited volume by Natalie Dupré, Da te lontano: Incursioni critiche nell’immaginario transnazionale di Giuliana Morandini. The article examines the thematic and artistic dimensions of Morandini’s work, analyzing the author’s preoccupations with identity, bordered conditions, fragmentation, time, and memory. It explores how her narratives engage with the complexities of Central European history and identity through a fragmented and introspective lens.

Dr. Bjekovic’s publications include:

• “Giuliana Morandini and The Density of Transience” (2024)
• The Other Others: Negotiating Alterity in Postwar Trieste (2022)
• “Trieste ha sempre parlato diverse lingue: Intervista con Boris Pahor” (2021)
• “Teaching Italian in the Digital Sphere: Innovations and Challenges” (2020)
• “Bare Life: Space and the Maternal in Laura Pugno’s La ragazza selvaggia” (2020)