Peter Naccarato

About

Peter Naccarato has been a member of the faculty in the Department of English & World Literatures for over 20 years and began serving as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty in January 2020. Prior to this appointment, he served as Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Chair of the Humanities Division, Chair of the English & World Literatures Department, Coordinator of the General Education Program, and Coordinator of the First-Year Writing Program. He has also served extensively on faculty and college-wide committees, including co-chairing the College’s most recent successful Middle States reaccreditation.  

In addition to developing and teaching many courses on our 71^st Street campus, Naccarato has taught in the MMC’s College Program at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility and has led study abroad trips to Italy, where he established partnerships with the Umbra Institute in Perugia and the International Studies Institute in Florence. In 2009, he was recognized by his colleagues with the Teaching Excellence Award.

Naccarato earned his Ph.D. in English from Stony Brook University and his B.A. in English from Villanova University. As a scholar, Peter’s work is in the interdisciplinary field of food studies. He has worked collaboratively with Dr. Katie LeBesco for several years and they have published and presented their work at many conferences. Their co-publications include The Bloomsbury Handbook of Food and Popular Culture (Bloomsbury Press, 2018), Culinary Capital (Berg Press, 2012) and Edible Ideologies: Representing Food and Meaning (SUNY Press, 2008). Additional food-studies related research has focused on Italian and Italian-American food and culture, including co-editing Representing Italy Through Food with Zachary Nowak and Elgin Eckert, (Bloomsbury Press, 2017).

Recent Work

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Food and Popular Culture, co-edited with Katie LeBesco, Bloomsbury Press, 2018.

Representing Italy Through Food, co-edited with Zachary Nowak and Elgin Eckert, Bloomsbury Press, 2017.

Culinary Capital, co-authored with Katie LeBesco, Berg Press, 2012.

Edible Ideologies: Representing Food and Meaning, co-edited with Katie LeBesco, SUNY Press, 2008. 

Research

Dr. Naccarato’s research interests are primarily in food studies.  He has worked collaboratively with Katie LeBesco for several years and they have published and presented their work at many conferences.  In recent years, some of Dr. Naccarato’s research has focused specifically on Italian and Italian-American food and culture.  Overall, Dr. Naccarato loves engaging in research in areas that are deeply meaningful to him, namely his love of food and all things Italian. 

Teaching

In addition to teaching many courses in the English & World Literatures curriculum,  I also teach a section of NYC Seminar called Eating New York.  In this course, my students and I study the history of NYC through its diverse food culture.  We also take several culinary tours, including to Chinatown, the Lower East Side, and the Union Square Green Market.

I have also had the pleasure of taking MMC students on a summer study abroad experience at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy.  There, I teach a course called Mangiamo: Food in Italian Literature and Film.  I have also helped establish MMC’s partnerships with the Umbra Institute and the International Studies Institute in Florence, Italy.    

College Service

Currently serving as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty.