EDUCATION
PhD in Science and Culture of Well-being and Lifestyles, University of Bologna, XXXV cycle (2019–2023).
Dissertation: Italian GenZ Celebrity. Teen Celebrities in Contemporary Italian Audiovisual Production: Reconfigurations, Communicative Models, Classifications.
Supervisor: Prof. Roy Menarini.
MA in Cinema, Television and Multimedia Production, University of Bologna (2019).
Thesis: Beyond Stereotypes (?) Gender Representations in Contemporary American Sitcoms.
Final grade: 110/110 cum laude.
Supervisor: Prof. Claudio Bisoni; co-supervisor: Prof. Luca Barra.
ACADEMIC CAREER
In the academic year 2025–2026, Contract Lecturer at the University of Bologna, Department of the Arts, teaching Celebrity Cultures.
Since July 2024, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Bologna, Department of the Arts, for the PRIN PNRR 2022 project “CELEBR-AGE: Ageing Celebrity in Contemporary Media and Sport Contexts: A Model of Social and Cultural Well-being.”
In 2024–2025, Teaching Tutor at the University of Bologna, Department of the Arts, supporting the Inter-University MA in Performing Arts and Audiovisual Production.
From September 2023 to July 2024, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Bologna, Department of the Arts, for the project “Culture, Fashion, Communication, Media: New Research Strategies” (International Research Centre Culture, Fashion, Communication).
In 2023–2024, Cross-disciplinary Teaching Tutor at the University of Bologna, Department of the Arts (CITEM; Communication Studies; Music and Theatre Studies; INCOM).
EDITORIAL ROLES
Since 2019, Journal Manager of ZoneModa Journal, ranked “Class A” by ANVUR (area 10).
Since 2021, Editorial Assistant of Cinergie – Il cinema e le altre arti, ranked “Class A” by ANVUR (PEMM-01/B).
Peer reviewer for several journals in area PEMM-01/B, including ZoneModa Journal and Funes.
RESEARCH GROUP MEMBERSHIP
CFC – International Research Centre Culture, Fashion and Communication
Girl’s Eye View – Italian Girlhood Studies Research Network
INC – Italian Research Network on Celebrity Culture
CURATORIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Conferences and Workshops
2025 – Co-curator of the following events within the PRIN PNRR 2022 project CELEBR-AGE:
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The Older, The Better! Ageing Celebrity in Contemporary Media and Sport Contexts (Bologna, 15–17 September).
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Celebrity, Ageing and Media Narratives Between Sports and Entertainment (Salerno, 31 March – 1 April).
2024 – Co-curator of the workshop Celebr-età (Bologna, 17 October).
2021 – Collaborated in organising the international conference Celebrity and Crisis, Celebrity in Crisis (Bologna–Rimini, 11–13 May).
Co-curator of the round table CELEBRITY. Themes and Research on Celebrity Culture in Italy (Bologna, 29 October).
Volumes
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Menarini, Roy, Ylenia Caputo and Simona Castellano (eds.) (forthcoming), Celebrity and Post-Career – The Renegotiation of Celebrity Capital in the Post-Career Era between Media Narratives, Self-Representation Practices and Audience Perceptions. Mimesis International.
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Teti, Marco and Ylenia Caputo (eds.) (forthcoming), Boris – la fuoriserie italiana. Media Cultures, Transgenerational Imaginaries and Reflections on Italian Society. Avanguardia 21 Edizioni.
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Martin, Sara, Roy Menarini and Ylenia Caputo (eds.) “Fashioning Masculinities. The Art of Cinematic Menswear.” ZoneModa Journal 14(1), July 2024.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Bologna, October 2025 – “Bella così. The Mediated Construction of the ‘Famous Body’ and Ageing in Italian Fashion and Lifestyle Magazines (2020–2024).”
Conference: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Italian Audiovisual Media.
Bologna, September 2025 – The Vulnerable Body: Narratives of Illness in Post-Career Female Celebrity.
Conference: The Older, the Better! Ageing Celebrity in Contemporary Media and Sport Contexts.
Gorizia, July 2024 – Emerging Voices: The Cultural Metamorphosis of Italian Television through Second-Generation Narratives and Identities.
Conference: Work and Play: Studying the Labour of and Around Acting in Contemporary European Cinema.
Salerno, March 2024 – From “Smarmella” to “F4 – Basito”: Boris as a Cultural Reference for Generation Z.
Conference: Boris – Il convegno: The Sitcom, the Media and Italian Society.
Bologna, December 2023 – I Don’t Care about Being Cool, I Care about Having Fun. The White Lotus, Sabrina Impacciatore and the Transnational Circulation of Italian Female Stardom.
Project: Italian Na(rra)tives. The International Circulation of Brand-Italy Through Media (PRIN 2017).
Sassari, October 2023 – Fashioning Afrodescendency. Representations of Afrodescendant Italian Film Celebrities in Fashion Magazines (with Nadica Maksimova).
FAScinA Annual Forum.
Montréal, May 2023 – Exporting Teen-oriented Italianity: RAI and the Mare fuori Case.
CAIS Annual Conference.
Rome, June 2022 – Second-generation Italians. New Celebrities in Netflix Italian TV Series.
Third International Conference – Italian Cinema and Media.
San Marino, May 2022 – And Just Like That… Women Aged, Queered, and (Do Not?) Apologize.
International Conference – Media and Gender.
Bologna, October 2021 – The State of Celebrity Studies in Italy.
Round table on celebrity culture research.
Bologna, June 2021 – Young and Authentic. Skam Italia, a New Standard for the Teen Genre.
International Conference – Fashion Tales.
Bologna, May 2021 – ASK ME A QUESTION. Italian Teen Celebrities Between Authenticity and Fiction.
International Conference – Celebrity and Crisis.
Parma, November 2020 – Celebrity and Teen Studies in Italy: Methods, Challenges and New Perspectives.
CUC Doctoral Workshop.
INVITED LECTURES AND SEMINAR LECTURES
2023–2025 – Lecturer in the course Audiovisual Media and Fashion, seminar: Celebrity, Teen and Media. University of Bologna, Rimini Campus (MA in Fashion Studies), 6 hours.
2022 – Lecturer in the course Television and Seriality Cultures, seminar: Contemporary Television Seriality. University of Bologna, Rimini Campus (BA in Fashion Cultures and Practices), 6 hours.
2020–2021 – Lecturer in the Crash Courses programme, Looking Through the Media: An Introduction to Cinema and Television Studies. University of Bologna, Rimini Campus (MA in Fashion Studies), 10 hours.
Invited Seminars
July 2023 – University of Bologna, Summer School Mediating Italy in Global Culture: (Re)configuring Celebrities in Contemporary Italian Teen-oriented Audiovisual Production.
May 2023 – University of Parma, CAPAS: Reducing Distances. Gen Z and Italian Stardom in the Age of Social Media.
Doctoral Seminars
February 2025 – University of Bologna: Evolution of the Star System: Generational Transitions and Strategies of Relevance in Celebrity Culture.
June 2024 – University of Bologna, PRIN PNRR 2022 CELEBR-ETÀ: Eternal Youth: Female Gymnasts and the Paradox of Ageing.
March 2024 – University of Salerno, PRIN PNRR 2022 CELEBR-ETÀ: Eternal Youth: Female Gymnasts and the Paradox of Ageing.
PUBLICATIONS
A full list of publications is available in the dedicated section.
In addition to the works indexed in IRIS:
Caputo, Y. (2025) “Rai Fiction Teen Series for Mainstream Channels: Programming and Production“. In Contemporary Italian Youth Television, Barra, Luca, Danielle Hipkins, Cathrine O’Rawe e Dana Renga (edited by). London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 95-107.
Caputo, Y. (2025) – “Eternal Youth. Gymnasts, Ageing and Body Narratives across Sport, Media and Post-Career Trajectories.” In Mascio, Menarini, Pesce and Tirino (eds.), Celebr-Age: Celebrity and Ageing in Media and Sports Contexts (Mediascapes Journal, open access).
Forthcoming:
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Caputo, Y. "The Vulnerable Body: Illness Narratives of Female Actors in the Afterlife of Stardom". In Menarini, Roy, Ylenia Caputo e Simona Castellano (eds.), Celebrity and Post-Career - The Renegotiation of Celebrity Capital in the Post-Career Era between Media Narratives, Self-Representation Practices and Audience Perceptions. Mimesis International.
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Mascio, A., Caputo, Y. – “From ‘Smarmella’ to ‘F4 – Basito’: Boris as a Cultural Reference for Generation Z.” In Teti & Caputo (eds.), Boris – la fuoriserie italiana.
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Caputo, Y. – “Alice Pagani”; “Gabriel Garko”; “Viol@.” In Atlante dell’erotismo nel cinema italiano (eds. Zecca, Landrini, Maina). Mimesis.
