Katherine A. Cosby
Curriculum Vitae



Teaching & Work Experience
August 2022-present Assistant Professor of Black Studies. California State University, Channel Islands
Introduction to Africana Studies (F2F, online, & asynchronous ), The African Diaspora

August 2021–June 2022 Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer, University of Virginia, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Black Geographies in the Americas

June–September 2018 Graduate Student Researcher, University of California, Irvine
Organized data from the Interprovincial Slave Trade from Rio De Janeiro, 1809–33: An Analysis of the IPEA Database

September 2016–June 2018 Teaching Assistant, University of California, Irvine
The History of Soccer; Nineteenth Century U.S.: Crisis and Expansion; Modern America: Culture and Power; Terrorism;

Health, Wellness, and Conception of the Body

Education
2022 Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, History
Concentration: Latin American History & African Diaspora
Dissertation Title: “Flowers Grew Out of the Asphalt: Black Women’s Territories in São Paulo, 1871-1930”
Committee: Dr. Alex Borucki (co-chair), Dr. Tiffany Willoughby-Herard (co-chair), Dr. Jessica Millward

2011 M.A., Ohio University, International Affairs
Concentration: Latin American Studies

2009 B.A., Ohio University, International Studies & Spanish
Concentration: Europe
Minor: Linguistics

Research & Teaching Areas
Brazil, Modern Latin America, Black Feminist Studies, Black & African Diaspora, Black Geographies

Publications
“The Interprovincial Slave Trade from Rio de Janeiro, 1809-1833: An Analysis of the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research Database,” with Daniel B. Domingues da Silva, History Compass (2020).

Review of The Politics of Blackness: Racial Identity and Political Behavior in Contemporary Brazil, by Gladys Mitchell-Walthour, National Review of Black Politics 1, 1 (January 2020):184-186.

Invited Lectures
2023 Strangers in the Archive: Black Mobility in Early-Twentieth Century São Paulo, Research on Tap, Broome Library, California State University Channel

Islands
2023 “Slavery in Brazil,” Modern Latin America, California State University Channel Islands
2021 “Race and Whiteness in São Paulo,” World History since 1600 C.E., Missouri State University
2021 “Finding Black Women in São Paulo,1871-1930” Advanced US Literary & Cultural Studies, Benedictine University
2020 “Black Quitandeiras in São Paulo,1871-1930,” Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, University of California, Irvine
2020 “Afro-Latinx Resistance,” Latin American Rebellions, University California, Irvine
2020 “Secure the Bag: Real Talk about Fellowships,” Invited Lecture on Equity & Inclusion, University of California, Irvine
2020 “Shifting Demographics at the Turn of the Century,” Modern Latin America, Montana State University Billings

Paper Presentations
2024 Black Women, Fugitivity, and Mobility in Post-Abolition Era São Paulo, Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies Conference, Asheville, NC
2024 Roundtable: The Fight for Black Rights and Resisting Stigma in Brazil, National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Los Angeles
2023 “Beatriz Nascimento’s Lifeforce and the Erotics of the Quilombo, National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Atlanta
2023 “The Praxis of Beatriz Nascimento’s Quilombo in Early-Twentieth Century Urban São Paulo,” University of California Merced Africana Studies Conference
2022 “Blackness and Black Women on the Periphery,” International Education Week at California State University Channel Islands
2021 “Geografias das mulheres Negras e maternidade na vida pós-escravidão em São Paulo,” Associação Nacional de História (ANPUH)
2021 “Black Womanhood and Motherhood in the Afterlife of Slavery,” Latin American StudiesAssociation
2021 “Despite the Risks Involved: The Scholarship of Gladys Mitchell-Walthour,” National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Baltimore
2021 “Geographies of Black Womanhood and Motherhood in the Afterlife of Slavery,” National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Baltimore

Fellowships and Awards
2024 Mae C. King Distinguished Paper Award on Women, Gender and Black Politics Association for the Study of Black Women in Politics
2023 CSU Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Grant
2021-2022 Rising Scholars Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Virginia
2020–2021 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
2018–2019 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Award
2018 Humanities Commons Graduate Student Research Grant, University of California, Irvine
2017 Faculty Mentor Program, University of California, Irvine (honorable mention)
2017 University of California Consortium for Black Studies Fellowship
2016 Summer Language Fellowship, University of California, Irvine
2016 Foreign Language and Area Studies, Tulane University
2015–2020 Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, University of California, Irvine
2015 DECADE Summer Research Program, University of California, Irvine


Research Completed
July 2018– September 2019 Dissertation Archival Research
Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo, FFLCH-USP, and the Arquivo Histórico Municipal de São Paulo

June–September 2017 Preliminary Dissertation Research
Biblioteca Nacional, Arquivo do Estado de São Paulo, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, and Arquivo Histórico

Municipal de São Paulo

Languages
Portuguese, Advanced-Low, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil
Portuguese, Intermediate-Mid, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Brazil
Spanish, Oral Proficiency Interview: Advanced-Low

Professional Development
June–July 2023 Black Europe Summer School: Interrogation Citizenship, Race and Ethnic Relations

November 2020 National Humanities Center, Humanities in Class Online Course
The Where of Why: GIS in the Humanities Classroom

July 2020 National Humanities Center Virtual Graduate Student Summer Residency
Passionate Teaching in the Research Environment: How to Create Meaningful Online Learning Experiences

May 2016 Oral Historian, SCANDAL in Real Time Conference, University of California, Irvine
Conducted a CITI-certified interview with Dr. Gladys Mitchell–Walthour

Service
2022–present Inaugural faculty member of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Channel Islands
Curriculum building, creating governing documents, student outreach

2021 Ad Hoc Member of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists
Awards Committee