Michael Ortiz-Castro (he/him/his) is a rising 6th year PhD Candidate in American Studies. At Harvard, he also received a Masters in History of Science. His project focuses on the experience of citizenship in post Reconstruction America, specifically exploring how citizenship & belonging became thought of in biological terms in the wake of Emancipation, and its effect on discourses of collectivity and political membership. His work has been supported by the History of Science Society and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He is additionally a certified pastry chef.