I'm a public historian, artist, and educator, based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), telling and listening to stories about immigration, identity, collective memory, food, and folklore, particularly in relation to the Italian-Canadian experience and traditions from my family's region, Molise. I am also interested in representations of girlhood in the context of 90s and y2k pop/post-feminism and girl power movements.

My work is about imagining and remembering, and sometimes imagining memories. Art is a space in which I have explored themes of memory, nostalgia, identity, and autobiography. My work as a public historian is inspired and informed as much by these explorations as the theories and methodologies of historical work. My practice is multi-disciplinary, bringing together my training as an oral historian, with installation art and digital media.

I graduated twice from Concordia University with a BFA in Studio Arts and an Italian minor, and a BA in Honours Public History. In 2019, I completed my masters in Public History at Carleton University. My research project, The Yellow Line: Italo-Canadian Oral Histories from Montreal's Backyards and Schoolyards, was an archival photo, installation, and oral history pop-up exhibit, presented at the Casa d’Italia in March 2019.

From 2019-2023, I taught in the department of History and Classics at Dawson College. Currently, I am a reference archivist at Library and Archives Canada. As a freelancer, I am always looking for opportunities to collaborate and engage in public history work through museums, archives, and organizations that value innovative, interactive, diverse, and meaningful engagements with history, culture, and heritage. My latest project is an oral history cookbook on the stories and recipes of Montreal's molisani, Dalla valigia alla tavola: A journey through Molisan culinary heritage, which I completed in collaboration with the Federazione delle associazioni molisane del Quebec, photographer and artist Vee Di Gregorio, chef Joseph D'Alleva, and pastry chef Erica Marsillo.

Photo of young Cassandra, her sister, and two cousins around their great-grandmother, who is showing them a dove in her hands.
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Photo of young Cassandra and her baby sister with their grandmother and grandfather, at the table
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  • -MA Public History, Carleton University (2019)
    -BA Honours Public History, Concordia University (2017)
    -Exchange Program, History and Political Science, Sciences Po Paris (2014)
    -BFA Studio Arts, Italian minor, Concordia University (2015)
    -DEC Creative Arts, Literature, and Languages, CEGEP Marianopolis College (2010)

  • -Experimental Ethnographies: Oral History, Remixed, Oral History Summer School (May 2018)

  • -Teacher, Department of History, Dawson College, Montreal, QC (June 2019-December 2023)
    -Teacher, "All Over the Map: Imaginary places, phantom islands, and unknown lands", Enrichment Mini-Course, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (May 2019)
    -Teaching Assistant, HIST 1300: The Making of Canada, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (2017-18)
    -History and Culture Special Counsellor, Trevor Williams Kids Foundation, Montreal, QC (May-August 2016)
    -Tutor & Class Aid, Dante Elementary School, English Montreal School Board, Montreal, QC (September 2011-June 2016)
    -Teen Leadership Program Coordinator, Camp Allegria, Leonardo Da Vinci Centre, Montreal, QC (June-August 2015)
    -Art Teacher, 4Cats Art Studio NDG, Montreal, QC (November 2013-June 2014)

  • -Dalla valigia alla tavola: A journey through Molisan culinary heritage (2023), oral historian, researcher, writer [link]
    -Historians Cooking the Past in the Time of COVID-19 (2020), collaborator [link]
    -The Yellow Line (2018-2019)
    -Ottawa Love Stories: A Sonic Adventure Map (2018-2019) [link]
    -Ottawa Love Stories Jane's Walk (May 5, 2018)

  • “Dalla valigia alla tavola: Recipes and oral histories from Montreal’s molisani,” Association of Italian-Canadian Writers Biennial Conference (September 2024)

    “Dalla valigia alla tavola: Recipes and oral histories from Montreal’s molisani,” International Federation for Public History, Luxembourg University, Luxembourg (September 2024)

    “Dalla valigia alla tavola: Recipes and oral histories from Montreal’s molisani,” Italian Studies and Food Studies, Canadian Association for Italian Studies Annual Conference, Orvieto, Italy (June 14, 2024)

    “Why Family Histories Matter,” Keynote presentation at the Italian-Canadian Archives Project annual conference, Kelowna, BC (October 2023)

    “Recipes Hold Memories,” First Accenti Magazine International Festival of the Arts, Accenti Magazine and University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy (June 28, 2023)

    "Telling Italian-Canadian Oral Histories from Montreal's Backyards and Schoolyards," part of “La communauté italienne de Montréal entre tensions et affirmation de son Identité” panel at the Canadian Association for Italian Studies Conference, online (June 11, 2021)

    "Why Remember Fascism? Confronting Legacies of Fascism in Montreal,” with Luca Sollai (Université de Montréal), part of "How to remember Fascism? Politics of memory in media, monuments and archives" panel at the American Association for Italian Studies Conference, online (June 1, 2021)

    "Recipes I Learned Over the Phone: Reflections," 8th annual emerging scholars symposium on oral history, digital storytelling, and creative practice, Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, Montreal, QC (March 19, 2021)

    “The Yellow Line: Italo-Canadian Oral Histories from Montreal’s Backyards and Schoolyards,” National Council on Public History Annual Meeting poster session, Hartford, CT (March 28, 2019)

    “The Yellow Line: Italo-Canadian Oral Histories from Montreal’s Backyards and Schoolyards,” 6th annual emerging scholars symposium on oral history, digital storytelling, and creative practice, Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (March 22, 2019)

    “The Yellow Line: Ripples in the Italo-Canadian Experience in Montreal,” Ripples: Underhill Graduate Colloquium, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (March 7, 2019)

    "I have another story: or the time I interviewed Anna Arcaro, with her daughter, her husband, my mom, and my nonna about mal'occhio," Storying our Pasts - Historical Narratives and Representations: Underhill Graduate Student Colloquium, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (March 15-17, 2018)

    "Tapping into the Maple Spring," with Nathalie Picard and Brianna Spiess, Memories in Motion: 5th annual emerging scholars symposium on oral history, digital storytelling, and creative practice, Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (March 2, 2018)

    "Scaccia mal’occhio: The petits récits of five local mal’occhio healers," Offstream: Minority and Popular Cultures, Graduate Student Association of Italian Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (October 13-15, 2017)

    "The Yellow Line: Collective Memory and the ‘Myth of Exclusion’ in Saint-Leonard, 1945-1971," Canadian Society of Italian Studies & American Association of Italian Studies, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (April 20, 2017)

    "The Yellow Line: Collective Memory and the ‘Myth of Exclusion’ in Saint-Leonard, 1945-1971," Migrations of Culture Undergraduate Conference, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (March 29-31, 2017)

  • Talk: “Archives Out Loud: Food Through the Generations,” Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec at the Casa d’Italia and Federazione delle associazioni molisane del Quebec, Montreal, QC (April 26, 2024)

    “Recipes Hold Memories,” Palates & Passages: Navigating the Intersection of Food and Oral Histories through Migration, Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (April 11, 2024)

    Lecture: “Histoires italo-canadiennes : Identité et communauté après l’immigration,” for professor Luca Sollai’s course "Italie - Québec : parcours Interculturels," Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC (April 9, 2024)

    Workshop: "Tell me a story: what is oral history and why does it matter?" presented for grade 10 students at Villa Maria High School, Montreal, QC (April 11-12, 2023)

    Lecture: “Introduction to Public and Digital History,” for professor Paolo Frascà's Italian-Canadian History course at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (March 8, 2023)

    Lecture: "Scaccia mal’occhio," for professor Paolo Frascà's Italian-Canadian History course at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (November 30, 2022)

    Lecture: "L'héritage des italo-canadien.ne.s de Montréal: mémoire, éducation et politique," for professor Luca Sollai's course "Italie - Québec : parcours Interculturels," Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC (December 1, 2021)

    Workshop: "Tell me a story: what is oral history and why does it matter?" presented for grade 10 students at Villa Maria High School, Montreal, QC (March 31 and April 1, 2021)

    Lecture: "Scaccia mal’occhio," for professor Paolo Frascà's Italian-Canadian History course at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON (February 5, 2019)

    Workshop: "Beyond Reality: digital exhibits on Omeka," Workshop for Dr. Paul Nelles' graduate seminar HIST 5003: Historical Theory and Method, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (January 7, 2019)

  • Marsillo, Cassandra. “Eating in Saint-Leo,” kitchen work (no. 10), forthcoming

    Marsillo, Cassandra and Vee Di Gregorio. Dalla valigia alla tavola: A journey through Molisan culinary heritage. Montreal: Federazione delle associazioni molisane del Quebec, 2023.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. "The Yellow Line: Italo-Canadian Oral Histories from Backyards and Schoolyards." Historical Views, Selections from Quebec Heritage News 2000-2020. Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network: 2020.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. "Recipes I Learned Over the Phone, Part 1: Nonna Lucia's Italian Birthday Cake" [link], "Recipes I Learned Over the Phone, Part 2: Pasta e rapini" [link], and "In Backyards" [link]. Historians Cooking the Past in the Time of COVID-19. 2020.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. "The Yellow Line: Italo-Canadian Oral Histories from Montreal's Backyards and Schoolyards." 2019. Quebec Heritage News, Fall 2019: 13-15.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. 2017. "Scaccia mal'occhio: the petits récits of five local mal'occhio healers." Offstream. Edited by Paola Bernardini, Paolo Frascà, and Sara Galli. Firenze: Franco Cesati Editore, 2019.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. 2019. “Visualizing the York Minster as Papercraft: First Response.” Epoiesen. [link]

    Marsillo, Cassandra and Nathalie Picard. "In Podcasts We Trust? A Brief Survey of Canadian Historical Podcasts." 2018. International Public History, 1.2, October 2018.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. "'Climbing Up the Maple Tree': Black Poetic Activism in Montreal, 1970-1980." 2017. Quebec Heritage News, Winter 2018: 24-25.

    Marsillo, Cassandra. "'Une porte ouverte sur la rue': the village narrative and the Carrefour d'éducation populaire in Pointe-Saint-Charles." 2015. Historiae, volume 14, undergraduate history journal at Concordia University, 2016: 122-44.

  • -Archives Intern, Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec, Casa d'Italia, Montreal, QC (August 2019-March 2020)

    -Research Assistant, Carleton Centre for Public History, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (September 2018-June 2019)

    -Intern, Lost Ottawa, Ottawa, ON (May-September 2018)

    -Intern, Museum of Jewish Montreal, Montreal, QC (January-April 2017)

    -Research Assistant, Querelle Project, Montreal, QC (September 2015-April 2017)

    -Intern, Continui-T, Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Vaudreuil, QC (May-June 2015)

  • -Contributing Writer, Panoram Italia Magazine (April 2024-ongoing)

    -Chief Blog Editor, Bridging, Blog for the International Federation for Public History (March 2018-ongoing)

    -Private Editor, academic texts (September 2016-December 2023)

    -Editor, Historiae undergraduate journal, volume 15, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (September 2016-April 2017)

    -Visual Arts Editor, Montreal Rampage, Montreal, QC (July 2015-2017)

  • -Student Life Animator, Villa Maria High School, Montreal, QC (May 2022-December 2023)

    -Historical Coordinator, Social Media, Canadian Italians Against Oppression, Montreal, QC (August 2020-2023)

    -Communications Coordinator, Capital Heritage Connexion, Ottawa, ON (April 2018-July 2019)

    -VP Social and "History Formal" Chair, History Graduate Students' Association, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (May 2018-April 2019)

    -Events Coordinator, Yiara Magazine, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (May 2013-14)

  • -Historical Advisor, Migrants of the Mediterranean

    -Co-founder, Canadian Italians Against Oppression (C.I.A.O.)

    -Secretary, Board of Directors, Federazione delle Associazione Molisane del Québec (FAMQ)

    -Volunteer, Associazione di fraternità Santa Maria del Molise and Associazione Sant'Anna di Cantalupo di Montreal

  • -Ted Little Prize from Concordia's Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling

    -Nominated for the Senate Medal in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Carleton University (2019)

    -Frank H. Underhill Scholarship, Carleton University (2019)

    -Bursary, Canadian Italian Business Professional Association (2018)

    -Teaching Assistant Award, Department of History, Carleton University (2018)

    -Lester B. Pearson Scholarship, Department of History, Carleton University (2018)

    -Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2017-18)

    -Shannon Scholarship in Canadian Social History, Department of History, Carleton University (2017-18)

    -Graduate Entrance Scholarship, Department of History, Carleton University (2017)

    -Departmental Scholarship, Department of History, Carleton University (2017-18)

    -Bursary, Canadian Italian Business Professional Association (2016)

    -Special Projects Grant, Fine Arts Student Alliance, Concordia University (2012-13)

    -Publication Grant, Fine Arts Reading Room, Concordia University (2012)

    -Fine Arts Award, CEGEP Marianopolis College (2010)

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I tell, share, and listen to stories with communities & individuals using my training as a public and oral historian and artist. I teach and I make art.

Currently up to: writing about food for Panoram Italia; conducting oral histories for the Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec; historical advising for Migrants of the Mediterranean; editing the blog for the International Federation for Public History; open to freelance opportunities with museums, archives, and other institutions or community organizations looking to work with an oral or public historian.

Black and white photo of Cassandra's grandmother posing with her two brothers, on the stairs of their childhood home in Molise