James Taylor

James Taylor (he/they) is pursuing a combined PhD in Italian Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Prior to arriving at Yale, James received his bachelor’s degree in French and Italian from Princeton University, earning high honors. James' undergraduate thesis, titled “‘Coming out’ of Sanremo: La Rappresentazione Queer Nella Musica Italiana,” analyzed lyrics and performance to explore the recurrent tropes and themes that have surrounded LGBT+ representation at the Sanremo Festival in the last 20 years. James' interests include feminist and queer theory, gender studies, music and popular culture, and Italian lyric poetry.

At Yale, James is a co-organizer of the Yale Diversity & Italian Studies Working Group, which works to decenter the hegemonic white, male, cis gaze in Italian Studies. James is also on the organizational committee of the Mutamenti graduate conference organized by the Yale Italian Studies department and the Italian section at Johns Hopkins University. Finally, James helps organize the monthly Queer Italian Pasta event held at the LGBTQ Center, which brings them great joy.