Kevin Martín is the 2025-2026 recipient of the Marian and Andrew Heiskell Rome Prize in Modern Italian studies at the American Academy in Rome. Currently, he is a PhD candidate on the linguistics track of the Program in Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley. Kevin's interdisciplinary research focuses on the sociolinguistic history of the Romance language family, with particular emphasis on its interactions with languages and cultures beyond Western Europe. His dissertation project, "Silenced Lexicons: the Historical Sociolinguistics of Italian-occupied East Africa, 1882-1947" focuses on the linguistic impact of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Kevin’s background as a first-generation, low-income Latine-American student deeply motivates his interest in studying the intersections of language, colonialism and migration. In addition to the Rome Prize, his doctoral research has received support from the Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture at Trinity College, the ‘FLAS’ Fellowship, the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley, the Department of Italian Studies at UC Berkeley, and the program in Romance Languages and Literatures at UC Berkeley.
How has your time at the Academy shaped or shifted the direction of your project so far?
My time at the Academy and in Rome has been transformative for my dissertation in which I am applying historical sociolinguistic methods to surviving written data from the Italian colonial period. Key to executing this is, of course, finding the necessary materials to analyze. I had already conducted pre-dissertation research in Rome’s archives before my current sojourn, usually during past summers, but the Academy has provided me with the resources and time to excavate the documents I need con calma. Originally, I planned on conducting a broad survey of the sociolinguistic landscape of Italian-occupied East Africa, but based on what I’ve found over the past few months, I’ve become quite interested in the role that African-born interpreters played in assisting–and resisting–Italian colonial power through their linguistic mediation between colonizer and colonized subject. Working for the Italian colonial government didn’t exactly mean they were siding with the enemy–on the contrary, I’ve found evidence which shows that many interpreters had other plans in mind.
What part of your daily routine or environment at the Academy has most influenced you and your work?
My office at the Academy has become a sort of sacred space for me as I work on my dissertation. My large office window overlooks the fountain in the cortile, the sound of the trickling water providing the serene acoustics that fuel my productivity and concentration. With a strong cup of coffee in hand, I spend my mornings here analyzing and transcribing the documents I find in the archives. I’ve also begun studying Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, and I’ve pinned up charts of the Ge’ez alphabet all around my office – call it an attempt at linguistic immersion! When I’m not looking at colonial telegrams or fascist propaganda in my office, I’ll be out on a run in Villa Doria Pamphilj, or on a swim at a pool in Trastevere. I find these practices to be equally productive for my thinking.
Have any encounters – with people, places, new information – opened up new paths in your research or practice in the past months?
I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of such a dynamic and talented group of scholars and artists – individuals with whom I have become friends (if not family!) in such a short amount of time. The intellectual and creative stimulus at the Academy is always high, and I am both an active listener and eager speaker when it comes to these kinds of exchanges. For example, lunch chats with fellow Fellow in Modern Italian studies, Charles Leavitt, have made me think about how to use some of the materials I’ve found for post-doc projects. Conversations with my Shoptalk bud, Andrea Fraser, have inspired me to think critically about the institutions which house the materials I am analyzing in my dissertation. I’ve also visited many museums, art venues, and historical sites which have vestiges of Italy’s colonial project on display. It’s felt important for me to see these remnants firsthand, which range from monuments to manhole coverings containing the original fascio (the symbol for fascism), as this has only increased my momentum for completing my dissertation project. I’m nearing the halfway point of my residency here, which brings about many mixed feelings. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to what the next six months here have in store!