Biography

I am a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York, and received my BA degree at University College Utrecht. I completed my Research MA degree in Literary Studies at UvA in 2012, writing my thesis on literary and narrative depictions of New Amsterdam. In the Fall of 2012 I began working on my PhD at ASCA, as a part of the Cities Project. 

Current Project

I am currently working on my PhD dissertation, which has the working title, "Deciphering the New Amsterdam Palimpsest." 
PALIMPSEST -
1 :  writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased
2 :   something having usually diverse layers oraspects apparent beneath the surface    
    
Although New York was once called New Amsterdam (and briefly even New Orange), little direct evidence of the Dutch colony in Manhattan remains. History did leave its mark on the city, however, and in my work I am examining the geographical, cultural, and monumental traces of New Amsterdam. By examining Lower Manhattan as a type of palimpsest, and examining the concept of the palimpsest as a framework for viewing urban space, I hope not only to shine light on the parts of New Amsterdam which have resurfaced, but also to explain contemporary methods of looking at history and the way that these manifest themselves in an urban setting.

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