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Ana Paulina Lee is an Assistant Professor of Writing and Digital Humanities in the Comparative Literature, English, and Creative Writing Department at the American University of Paris. She joined AUP in 2025 after teaching Latin American literature and culture at Columbia University for eight years and serving as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Tulane University. Her interdisciplinary scholarship bridges literature, history, law, and urban studies with particular focus on marginalized narratives in the Americas. Ph.D. from University of Southern California M.A. from New York University B.A. from Binghamton University Professor Lee's research examines how stories—archival, fictional, oral—shape legal imagination, social life, and urban experience in the Americas. She specializes in the intersections of magic, law, and literature in Latin America, with particular focus on Asian and African diasporas in Brazil. Her work traces how narrative functions as both historical record and catalyst for social transformation, exploring themes of slavery, emancipation, colonial legacies, and urban memory. She approaches these topics through interdisciplinary lenses combining literary analysis with histories of labor, migration, and performance. Lee's recent publications reveal a consistent focus on marginalized narratives and their impact on social structures. Her scholarship connects legal history with cultural production, showing how magical thinking and narrative practices shape urban spaces and social relations. Works like 'Urban Sorcery, Segregation, and Spectacle in Twentieth-Century Rio de Janeiro' and 'Black Magic City' demonstrate her innovative approach to understanding the relationship between occult logics and legal frameworks in Brazilian contexts. Her research on diasporic communities, particularly Chinese and Japanese experiences in Latin America, contributes significantly to transnational and comparative race studies. David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality, Kluge Center, United States Library of Congress (2025-2026) National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship (2025) Social Sciences Research Council, Inaugural Recipient of Interdisciplinary Projects in the Social Sciences (2020-2023) Institute for Ideas and Imagination Fellowship, Columbia University in Paris, France (2021-2022) Provost's Tsunoda Senior Fellowship, Visiting Scholar, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan (2019) Heyman Center Fellow, The Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University (2017-2018) Fulbright, Lisbon, Portugal (2013-2014) Professor Lee's scholarly activities have been generously supported by major research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Social Sciences Research Council, and the Library of Congress. Her work demonstrates a commitment to interdisciplinary approaches that bridge humanities and social sciences, particularly through projects examining intersections of race, migration, and cultural production in the Americas. Her publication 'Socially Engaged Oral History Pedagogy Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic' indicates a strong commitment to innovative teaching methods and community-based research. While specific details about current advisees aren't provided, her research program suggests engagement with graduate students interested in diaspora studies, urban history, and literary-cultural analysis. Though not explicitly mentioned in the available information, Professor Lee's research on urban spaces, magic, and law in Brazil likely involves collaborative work with scholars across disciplines. Her participation in centers like the Institute for Ideas and Imagination at Columbia University suggests engagement with interdisciplinary research communities focused on global cultural production and social transformation. Her work contributes to ongoing conversations about how narrative practices shape legal frameworks and social structures in the Americas, particularly regarding racial formation and diasporic experiences.

• Literature and the social imagination in the Americas
• Slavery, emancipation, and the legacies of colonialism
• Magic and the state in Latin American cultural texts
• +3 more

Roy Michael is a Professor at Paris Cité University , serving as Deputy Director of ECHELLES (UMR 8264). His research focuses on the transatlantic history of slavery and abolition with special attention to slave narratives , African American intellectual history , and 19th century print culture . He holds an École Normale Supérieure de Lyon education and serves on multiple editorial boards including the 19th Century History Review . Current Role: University Professor (2024–) Research Authorization: HDR (2023) Academic Fellowship: Junior Member of University Institute of France (2020–2025) His scholarship examines transnational abolitionist movements through archival materials and textual analysis, emphasizing the militant uses of print and historical representations of enslavement in literature and film. Recent work explores age as a category of historical analysis and material aspects of antislavery publications . Key publications include peer-reviewed journal articles on topics spanning British abolitionist influence on French colonies , juvenile abolitionist organizing , and textual materiality in slave narratives . His scientific award as Junior Member of the University Institute of France recognizes his contributions to historical research methodology.

• Political History
• Social History
• Cultural History
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Nathalie Dessens is a Professor at Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès (UT2J) and Vice-President of Research since 2023. Affiliated with the Centre for Anglophone Studies (CAS), she specializes in the history of the Southern United States, comparative slavery (Antilles/Southern United States) in the 19th century, Louisiana history, and memorialization of slavery in the Americas. She has held significant scientific responsibilities, including Director of ED ALLPH@ (2013-2021), President of the French Colonial Historical Society (2014-2016), and Editor-in-Chief of French Colonial History (2009-2012). Education: PhD (1991) and Habilitation (2000) from University of Toulouse-Le Mirail/Montpellier III Key Research Areas: Atlantic World; slavery and colonialism; migrations; cultural memory; Creole societies Her scholarly work focuses on the interplay between Atlantic migrations and slavery, particularly the Saint-Domingue diaspora's impact on Louisiana. Her recent publications, such as Gentilly: A New Orleans Plantation in the French Atlantic World, 1818-1851 (2025) and New Orleans Between Atlantic and Caribbean (2024), demonstrate her commitment to analyzing transatlantic cultural exchanges and material histories of slavery. Her research often bridges historical analysis with contemporary debates about racial memory and postcolonial identity. As an academic leader, Dessens has supervised numerous doctoral students on topics including: Geneviève Piché (2016): Slavery and Catholic identity in New Orleans Barbara Franchi (2021): American Colonization Society Stéphanie Denève (2022): Folk songs and natural environment Ana Artiaga (2022): Political clientelism and ethnic voting Marie-Pierre Baduel (2023): Slave narratives Her scientific contributions include leading research axes at CAS, serving on editorial boards, and organizing international conferences. Current projects examine Canadian migrations to the U.S. (with Jean-Pierre Le Glaunec) and emotional histories of enslaved women.

• American History
• Slavery Studies
• Migration History
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