Biography

Mattia Ferraro is a doctoral researcher currently working towards his PhD under the supervision of Professor Patrick Vincent. His research focuses on representations of Switzerland and the Swiss in twentieth-century American literature. Bridging traditional historical analysis with digital methods, his research combines close textual study with data mining techniques to better understand the adverse mythification of Switzerland in the American imaginary.

Prior to joining the English Studies Department at the University of Neuchâtel, Mattia obtained a Joint Master’s Degree in English and American Studies from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Graz.

Publications

“James Baldwin in Switzerland: Love, Artistic Becoming, and the Geography of Black Identity.” James Baldwin Review 12.1 (2026): 88-108. https://doi.org/10.7227/JBR.12.6

“‘Simply a Living Wonder’: Black Identity Through the Swiss Lens in the Works of Baldwin, Carter, and Cole.” Swiss Papers in English Language and Literature, Issue 46 (2025): 95-110. https://doi.org/10.33675/SPELL/2025/46/10

Conferences

“‘On the Roof of the World’: Hemingway’s Switzerland from Journalism to Fiction.” 21st International Hemingway Conference, The Hemingway Society, Toronto, Canada (2026).

“Switzerland in American Literature: Digital Methods for Tracing Cultural Representation.” CUSO Conference on Narratology and the Humanities: Towards a Transdisciplinary Future, Geneva, Switzerland (2026).

“Topic Modeling and Switzerland in the American Imaginary.” CUSO Workshop on Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (2025).

“Black Identity Through the Swiss Lens in the Works of Baldwin, Carter, and Cole.” SANAS Biennial Conference, Geneva, Switzerland (2024).

Prizes, Awards, Fellowships

Doc.CH Fellowship – awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (2024-2027).

James Baldwin Review Graduate Student Essay Award 2026 – awarded by the editorial board of the James Baldwin Review for outstanding critical scholarship on Baldwin.

SANAS Research Award 2025 – awarded by the Swiss Association for North American Studies.