Cristina Baima Besquet Griga

Biography

As an Italian student, taking international qualifications has played an irreplaceable role in helping me to develop my academic English. During my studies, history has always been a discipline of intellectual fascination to me, but it has been the discovery of historiography that changed everything. I avidly read historical articles (and books when time permits), driven by curiosity or to deepen my knowledge of curricular topics. Although I don't have formal experience as a translator, my readings, along with my essays, span English and Italian historical accounts, due to availability issues or simply because I’m interested in reading some authors’ works in their original language, which gives me a greater sense of direct engagement with the source.

If I had to delineate my major areas of interest, I would say that it depends on whether we are referring to my quick readings for intellectual curiosity or those that represent gold nuggets in my academic studies. In the former case, I would be confident in asserting that there’s simply no limit line. In the latter, my main interests include the communist government in the USSR, Classical Athenian democracy, French and Italian medieval intellectual history, and the microhistory of the Italian Renaissance. Conscious of the early stage at which my historical skills currently place me, I’m keen to develop them, as I’m aware of how far I have yet to go. In this pursuit, I believe that reading and translating historical articles can represent not only a launching platform for me but also the overall readership. It is an endeavour that goes well beyond personal aims, contributing a small piece to the monumental puzzle that World History Encyclopedia seeks to assemble through its intellectual mission.