I am a public, digital, and cultural historian.
My dissertation “Imagining Acadiana: Cajun Identity in Modern Louisiana” tells the story of how a modern Cajun identity developed in 20th century Louisiana. By examining key moments in the development of the region’s cultural identity from the 1920s-1970s, I show how the cultural region of Acadiana emerged through the creation of Cajun culture industries. The work of local community leaders during this period makes clear that Acadiana’s traditional culture did not survive in spite of modernity, but by engaging with the opportunities mass culture presented for power, preservation, and profit.
I am the Project Manager at the Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies where I also teach undergraduate and graduate courses in digital and public history. I have over a decade of experience in digital humanities with a range of institutions such as the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, the National Park Foundation, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum. I also am the Managing Editor of the web-based storytelling app New Orleans Historical and a Project Associate for the digital archive Frenchmen Notes.
