Overview
Thomas Lorusso is a doctoral student specializing in French and Francophone literature, with a focus on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century writers as well as contemporary authors from Quebec and Indigenous Quebecois communities. His research lies at the intersection of literature, philosophy, and animal studies, examining how literary representations of animals—read through a queer and interdisciplinary lens—challenge anthropocentric hierarchies and reimagine interspecies relationships. His broader academic interests include gender and queer studies, intercultural transfer, immigration narratives, and the dialogue between literature and the visual arts.
Before coming to Cornell, Thomas earned a B.A. in French and Russian Language and Literature at the University of Milan, where his thesis focused on the narrative structures of Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s Voyage au bout de la nuit. He went on to complete an international M.A. in European and Extra-European Languages and Literatures (French language and literature) at the University of Milan and the Université d’Avignon, graduating cum laude. His M.A. thesis on the theatrical adaptation of Céline’s Voyage au bout de la nuit is preserved in the archives of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and formed the basis of one of his first publications.
He has taught French language and literature in a variety of public and private institutions, including the European School of Varese, and served as an adjunct professor of Italian language and culture at the Université d’Avignon. He has also presented his work at international conferences on French and Francophone literature, Quebecois literature, and on themes such as animal studies, migration, and queerness in Francophone literary expression.