Full version PDF (Updated May 17, 2024)

Curriculum Vitae

Johns Hopkins University
Department of History
Gilman Hall, Bowman Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218
epalazz1@jhu.edu | (804) 357-3037

Education

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland | August 2019 – Present
Ph.D. Candidate in History

University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia | May 2019
B.A. with Honors, History and French, Summa Cum Laude (4.0 GPA), Phi Beta Kappa

The Paris Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France | December 2017
Certificate of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities

Research and Grants

2020-Present | Keywords for Black Louisiana, Enslaved and Free in Gulf Coast Louisiana with LifexCode: DH Against Digital Enclosure Project Manager (2023-Present), Digital Strategist (2020-2023)

Summer 2022 | Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation Instructional Enhancement Grant for “Mapping Revolution” under Dr. Sarah Pearsall, JHU, Department of History

Summer 2021 | Center for Educational Resources Technology Fellow for “StoryMaps for History 115 – Modern Latin America” under Dr. Casey Lurtz, JHU, Department of History

January 2020 | Research Assistant to Dr. Yael Sternhell, Tel Aviv University, Department of History for War on Record: The Archive and the Making of Civil War History

Summer 2018 | Undergraduate Research Fellow under Dr. Sydney Watts, University of Richmond, Department of History

Summer 2017 | Undergraduate Research Fellow under Dr. Olivier Delers, University of Richmond, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Teaching

Fall 2024 | Instructor for Farming America: Food and Power in U.S. History
Developed a full semester course in the History department (listed)

Summer 2023, 2024 | Group Facilitator for JHU Teaching Academy’s Institute Summer Institutes
Center for Teaching Excellence & Innovation, Johns Hopkins University

Spring 2022 | Teaching Assistant for The American Revolution in Unexpected Places
Sarah Pearsall, Professor, Department of History, Johns Hopkins University

Fall 2021 | Instructor of Record for Cookbook Politics: Reading and Writing U.S. Culinary History
Developed and taught six-week, one-credit class to undergraduates at Johns Hopkins.

Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Modern Latin America (hybrid)
Casey Lurtz, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Johns Hopkins University

Spring 2021 | Teaching Assistant for Chronicling the Caribbean (virtual)
Sasha Turner, Associate Professor, Department of History, Johns Hopkins University

Fall 2020 | Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (virtual)
Todd Shepard, Professor, Department of History, Johns Hopkins University

Spring 2018, 19 | Student Assistant in French Revolution C-LAC
Sydney Watts, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Richmond

Spring 2019 | Italian Language Practice Assistant
Department of Language, Literatures, and Cultures, University of Richmond

Fall 2016, 18 | French Language Practice Assistant
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures University of Richmond

Publications

“Kinship and Belonging in Colonial Louisiana” co-editor in Scholarly Editing vol. 41 (forthcoming)

“History 115: Creating Visually Rich Interactive Historical Narratives with StoryMaps” with Dr. Casey Lurtz in University Writing Program Teaching Writing Toolkit (Spring 2023)

Conferences and Presentations

2025

“Making Modern Fare: Labor, Consumerism, and American Food Culture in the Late-Nineteenth Century” in “New Work on the Gilded Age and Progressive Era,” Organization of American Historians, Chicago, IL, Mar. (accepted)

2024

“TEI for Black DH: A Conversation between Revue des Colonies and Keywords for Black Louisiana,” panel member, Textual Encoding Initiative, Buenos Aires, AR, Oct. (submitted)

“Kinship & (Be)Longing: Confronting Slavery’s Archive through Critical Black DH,” with Olivia Barnard (JHU), Leila Blackbird (UChicago), Dr. Jessica Marie Johnson (JHU), MITH Digital Dialogues, College Park, MD, Apr.

“Farm to Fair: Race, reunion, and selling American agriculture at the 1893 Columbian Exposition,” 19th C Studies Association, Louisville, KY, Mar.

2023

“Developing ‘Kinship and Longing: Keywords for Black Louisiana’” with Chenise Calhoun (Tulane) and Jamya Davis (Xavier NOLA) for DH Caucus panel “Accountability, Affirmations and Algorithms: Digital Approaches to Critical Race & Ethnic Studies,” American Studies Association, Montreal, QB, November.

“Bringing DH to the Classroom with StoryMaps” with Dr. Casey Lurtz (JHU), Digital Pedagogy Institute, virtual, August.

Chair of “Using Digital Public History to Uncover Black Lives Next Door” Keystone DH, Baltimore, MD, June.

“‘I could not avoid visiting them’: Touring the Union Stock Yards, 1880-1893,” Midwestern History Association, Grand Rapids, MI, May.

2022

“Keywords for Black Louisiana” with Dr. Jessica Marie Johnson (JHU), “Towards the Development of a Community for Digital Edition Publishing,” UVA-CDE, Charlottesville, VA, September.

“Finding the Sources: Teaching Historical Methods with StoryMaps” with Dr. Casey Lurtz (JHU), ESRI User Conference Education Summit, San Diego, CA, July. (prepared and submitted, unable to attend)

2021

“Textual Recovery and Scholarly Editing in Intersectional and Black DH” guest lecture for Fall 2021 course “Out of the Archives,” instructed by Dr. Guadalupe Garcia, Tulane University, virtual, November.

“Semester-Long StoryMaps Research Assignment for Modern Latin American History Survey Course” with Dr. Casey Lurtz, Bloomberg School of Public Health GIS Day, virtual, November.

“Keywords for Black Louisiana: Digitizing the Colonial Archive,” with Olivia Barnard (JHU), Emma Bilski (JHU), Leila K. Blackbird (UChicago), and Dr. Jessica Marie Johnson (JHU), Association for Documentary Editing, virtual, July.

“Keywords for Black Louisiana: Digital Histories of the Gulf Coast,” member of panel presentation, American Historical Association, New Orleans, LA, January.

2019

“‘In union there is strength’: Professional and Religious Organization among Philadelphia’s Caterers of Color, 1877-1893,” Virginia Social Sciences Association, Longwood University, Farmville, VA, April. (awarded “Best Undergraduate Paper”)

“Free, French ‘gentlemen of couleur’: Reconsidering Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in Philadelphia’s Catering Industry, 1870-1930,” Arts and Sciences Research Symposium, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, April.

“‘Il est bon, aujourd’hui, le boudin’: Food Aestheticization and Taste in Zola’s Naturalist Novels,” Arts and Sciences Research Symposium, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, April.

2018

“Coucou, tu as pris le pain? : The impacts of food system industrialization on bread consumption in the United States and France,” Arts and Sciences Research Symposium, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, April.

Involvement and Service

2021-Present | Co-convener of the Johns Hopkins Digital History Workshop
2023-Present | Member of the Association for Documentary Editing Nominating Committee
2023-Present | Cohort Representative to the Graduate Student Advisory Board
2023 | Interviewer for The Black Lunch Table, Archive Director position
2019-20 | History Department Representative to the Johns Hopkins Graduate Representation Organization (GRO)
2018-19 | Student Liaison, University of Richmond History Department

Events Organized

TEI/XML Workshop with Dr. Alex Gil, Columbia University, co-sponsored by Life x Code: DH Against Enclosure and JHU Sheridan Libraries, April 2021.

Student Assistant to Dr. Lidia Radi, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Culture and Cultures, in organizing “Migration: Contested Spaces of the Mediterranean” Conference at University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, March 2019.

Fellowships, Scholarships, and Awards

2024-25 | Winterthur Library Short-Term Research Fellowship ($1,250)
2024-25 | Steinberg Fellowship, Department of History, Johns Hopkins University ($2,000)
2024-25 | Dean’s Teaching Fellowship, JHU Krieger School of Arts and Sciences ($13,455)
2022-23 | Digital Dissertation Fellow, JHU Center for Digital Humanities and Diaspora Solidarities Lab (Mellon Foundation, MSU, JHU; $32,500)
2023 | John Russell-Wood Memorial Conference Travel Grant
2022 | Sidney W. Mintz Fellowship, Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University ($3000)
2015-19 | Richmond Scholars Program, Boatwright Scholars, D. Chris Withers (full tuition)
2019 | David C. Evans Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship
2019 | Epps Award for Outstanding Four-Year Academic Record in Westhampton College
2019 | Joseph C. Robert Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and Leadership in the History Department and the University
2019 | Outstanding Senior in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures French Program

Professional Affiliations

American Historical Association
American Studies Association
Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
Nineteenth Century Studies Association
Agricultural History Society
Association for Documentary Editing

Languages and Digital Competencies

English: L1 fluency
French: Excellent reading; Advanced writing and speaking
Italian: Advanced reading, writing, and speaking
Coding: Markdown, TEI; rudimentary HTML, CSS, Liquid; basic Python
Software: ArcGIS StoryMaps, GitHub Pages, WordPress
Johns Hopkins University Teaching Academy Teaching Certificate