Erika Conti's area of specialization is the Italian literature of the 20th century, in particular personal narratives and collective memories of Fascism and World War II.
A native of Italy, Erika grew up in the Piedmont region and received her laurea from the University of Milan, where she studied English, Spanish, and German languages and literatures. After receiving her PhD in Comparative Literature from Washington University, she joined the department where she has been teaching all levels of Italian language, the introductory survey of Italian literature, and courses on Italian cinema and on Fascism. She also created and currently teaches online courses on Italian culture for University College. Erika is serving as the coordinator for the beginning language sequence (101, 102, and 201), and the University College coordinator for Romance Languages. She has been serving as a Four-Year Advisor for students in Arts and Sciences since 2019. She enjoys offering translation support (Italian to English and English to Italian) to students, faculty, and staff on both Danforth Campus and the School of Medicine.