Lorenza Coray-Dapretto, born 19.06.1944 in the North East of Italy; of Italian and Swiss nationalities ; resident in Switzerland since 1985.

Advanced Studies and Career :

1973 Laurea in "Foreign Languages and Literatures" at the University of Padua (Italy).

1989 Diploma from the "Graduate Institute for Development Studies" in Geneva.

1995 Ph.D. from the University Stendhal, Grenoble 3 (France) in the English Department

1998-2001 - Associate Researcher at the English Department of the University of Geneva, under a grant by the Swiss National Research Foundation for the project Etude des formes de l'oralité comme contribution à l'étude de la performance (requêtes no. 1115-052734.97; 1115-55940.98; 1115-059364.99).

2002-2007 - Independent senior researcher, conference organiser and editor.

Author of Le Théâtre Communautaire Sud-Africain: Au Rythme de l'Autre (L'Harmattan, Paris, 1996) and of multiple articles concerning South Africa, Africa and India; specialized in South African theatre and socio-cultural aspects of Africa, African oral literature, as well as social and religious questions dealing with Dalits in India.

Main Fields of Research:

Contemporary literature and theatre, orality, ethnology and socio-politics in Africa, with particular reference to South and Southern Africa, both in urban and rural areas. Indian socio-religious structure of the society.