Jessica Greenfield earned bachelor's degrees in Italian studies and Classical Civilizations at the University of California, Berkeley, her master's degree in Italian Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and her Ph.D. in Romance Languages, with a specialization in Italian, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Greenfield is a faculty member in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of North Texas, where she also serves as the Italian Language Program Coordinator. The author of numerous articles, reviews, and textbook contributions, she has also presented at regional and national conferences. Her research interests include modern Italian literature, Sicilian writers, and the Italian realist writer Giovanni Verga.