Karla Mallette

Professor of Italian and Mediterranean Studies; Chair of the Department of Middle East Studies, University of Michigan

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Karla Mallette is professor of Italian and Mediterranean Studies and chair of the Department of Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan. She is the author of The Kingdom of Sicily, 1100-1250: A Literary History (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005), European Modernity and the Arab Mediterranean (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010), and Lives of the Great Languages: Arabic and Latin in the Medieval Mediterranean (University of Chicago Press, 2021).

Written by Karla Mallette

Painting of a lively Middle Eastern courtyard with people dining, pigeons flying, and a richly detailed architectural backdrop.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

The allure of cosmopolitan languages to courtiers and pop fans

The song Despacito tells a truth about cosmopolitan language, or the ‘mistress tongue’ – we desire it before we know it

by Karla Mallette

An old illustrated map of Northern Europe featuring mythical sea creatures compass roses and detailed land formations.
HISTORY OF IDEAS

How 12th-century Genoese merchants invented the idea of risk

From the docks of 12th-century Genoa to the gambling tables of today, risk is a story that we tell ourselves about the future

by Karla Mallette