Barbara Ottaviani Jones is a Media studies scholar, with a specialization in linguistics. She received her M.A. from the Department of Communication at the University of Roma TRE. Her thesis concerned the female representation in films, starting from the silent era. Her historical and sociological approach can be found also in her doctoral research, obtained at Middlebury College in 2016. Her doctoral thesis focused on the Italian neorealism and its proliferation in the rest of the world until nowadays. She is a former Post-Doctoral Researcher at Arizona State University for the Italian and French department, where she taught courses on national cinema and on the sociological impact of crime in films. Professor Ottaviani Jones has taught several language and culture courses for the Italian and French department. She has a range of varied work experiences including Study Abroad Director, International Student Academic Advisor, Co-Founder of a Film Society, and Advance Health Care Planning Facilitator.