Tommaso Manfredini's research and teaching in the fields of Francophone and Mediterranean Studies develops at the intersection of migration, translation, literature, and law. His current focus is on the history and construction of categories of “illegality”, ideas of borders, and practices of citizenship, primarily in the Central Mediterranean and its main languages — French, Italian, and Arabic.

His current book project studies the figure of the stowaway as a neglected but foundational category of mobility, one that contributed decisively to the current thinking of the ‘illegal Other’ at the borders of the West.

In the Fall of 2023, Tommaso is teaching Intermediate French II and a seminar on the literatures and cultures of Francophone West Africa. In Spring 2024, in addition to Intermediate French II, he will be teaching a seminar on the illegalization of migration in the Francophone world.