Aliza S. Wong, Ph.D. is the Director of the American Academy of Rome, an Associate Professor of History, and the Director of European Studies. She joined the administration of the Honors College in 2014 and recently accepted the position of Director of the American Academy in Rome where she will reside until 2025. She has been teaching for the Department of History at Texas Tech University since 2001. She joined the faculty in a tenure-track position in 2002. Aliza Wong serves as the Director of European Studies, served three terms as a senator on the Faculty Senate, and one term as the Faculty Senate president in 2013-2014. She is also the co-director and co-founder of the Open Teaching Concept at Texas Tech. Dr. Wong received her undergraduate degree with a triple major in History, English, and Asian Languages and Civilizations from Amherst College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has taught a number of courses in the department including undergraduate seminars such as Europe and World War II, The First World War, Great Cities: Rome, Pompeii, Florence, and Milan, 19th Century Europe, 20th Century Europe, Europe and the World Wars, the History of Modern Italy, Nationalism in Europe, Popular Culture and History, History of Italian Fascism, Race, Nation, and Identity in Europe, and the History of the Italian Mafia, and graduate seminars on such topics as Methodologies, Cultural Theory and History, Diaspora and Immigration, The Breadth of Microhistory, European Nationalism and Identity, and the History of the European Right. A dedicated teacher, Dr. Wong has been honored with several teaching awards including the Phi Alpha Theta Distinguished Faculty Award (2003-2004 and 2007-2008), the Hemphill-Wells New Faculty Teaching Award (2004-2005), the Mortar Board Society's Outstanding Faculty Award (2005-2006), the Alumni Association New Faculty Award (2005-2006), the President's Excellence in Teaching Award (2006-2007), the Eta Omicron Nu Distinguished Faculty Award (2013-2014), and was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Forum Chapter of Texas Tech University of Mortar Board Society (2014). Dr. Wong is also a member of the Teaching Academy at Texas Tech University. Most recently, Dr. Wong was selected as an Integrated Scholar by the Office of the Provost at Texas Tech University. She also received the highest teaching award of the Texas Tech University System, the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2015. Dr. Wong is a specialist in modern Italian history with a concentration on southern question discourse, race, nationalism, and identity. Her book, Race and Nation in Liberal Italy, 1861-1911: Meridionalism, Empire, and Diaspora is available from Palgrave-Macmillan. She has also produced several articles and reviews. Dr. Wong's research interests have extended to work on diasporic systems and she has both published and presented papers on the immigrant communities in Italy. Dr. Wong has presented several papers including ones at the American Historical Association national conference and the American Political Science Association national conference. She has also presented in international conferences in places such as Cambridge, England, Hong Kong, Paris, France, and Cosenza, Italy. Dr. Wong is currently working on her second book, an examination of Italian constructions of the American Far West. Dr. Wong has received many research fellowships and awards for her work. Aliza Wong is a two-time Fulbright Scholar. She was awarded a Fulbright Junior Scholar Research Award to Italy (2005-2006) of which only one is awarded annually. She also received an earlier Fulbright graduate student research fellowship to Italy (1999-2000).

 

 

Areas of Expertise

 

European Studies

 

 

Education

 

— Doctor of Philosophy from University of Colorado at Boulder

— Master of Arts from University of Colorado at Boulder

— Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College