Clara Orban is a professor of French and Italian at DePaul University. She received her Ph.D. in Romance Languages at the University of Chicago. She has published books, book chapters, articles, and presented papers on surrealism, futurism, language pedagogy, AIDS literature, sports, TV, and Italian film. She published her first novel,
Terra Firma, in 2006. She is also a certified sommelier and teaches Geography 350: The World of Wine at DePaul. Her book,
Wine Lessons: Ten Questions to Guide Your Appreciation of Wine, published in 2011, is in its third edition. Her eighth book,
Illinois Wines and Wineries: the Essential Guide, was published in 2014 with Southern Illinois University Press. Her interest in Hungarian cinema has led to several presentations and to a new book project.
Orban has been providing translations as part of her professional portfolio since she began her teaching career. Her first translation was the works of Don Guanella for the Sisters of St. Mary of Providence in Chicago from Italian to English (a translation for internal use). Her interest in the French novelist Hervé Guibert led her to translate
Cytomégalovirus: Journal d'Hospitalsation in 1996. Fordham University Press re-published the translation, amplified with among others Orban's preface material, in 2018.
Orban regularly teachers French 321: Translation (Most recently in the winter quarter of 2019. This course will not be offered during 2019-2020 academic year). In each iteration of the course, she incorporates a real-life translation project to benefit an organization or group and to show students that learning a second language has implications for their careers. In the past the students have translated websites and pedagogical materials for the French Consulate and AIDS prevention materials for clinics in French-speaking Africa. In winter 2019, the students and Orban translated Eugene Ionesco's
Jeu de Massacre (Killing Game) for Red Orchid Theater. The translations was mentioned in several positive reviews of the play:
In her capacity as President of the non-profit Italidea-Midwest Ltd, which distributes funds to Italian language programs in elementary and middle schools in the Midwest provided by Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she oversaw the first Italian language TIC intern in winter and spring 2019.