Dani Willcutt

Name: Dani Willcutt 

Year in program: 7th 

ABD Y/N: Yes 

Primary supervisor: Helen Veit 

Major field: U.S. Food & Labor History 

Minor fields: African American Women’s History, Im/Migration History, Digital Humanities 

Link to your personal page or profile: 

DaniWillcutt.com  

Dani’s dissertation, Serving it Up in the Capital City: Restaurants, Labor, and Restaurant Labor in Lansing, Michigan, 1960-2000, examines labor, race, gender, immigration, politics, and placemaking in late 20th century America—continuing research begun during her master’s at Boston University. Dani is active in the Digital Humanities community, including working in LEADR, being a Cultural Heritage Informatics Fellow (2019-2020) and Senior Fellow (2021-2022), receiving a DH Summer Seed Grant (2023), and serving on several DH@MSU committees. Dani is currently the DH Lead Developer for the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and & Reconciliation at the University of the South and a researcher at MATRIX leading the project, Menu Made America. She regularly teaches workshops on using Digital Tools and Methods for facilitating better research and for creating and curating cultural heritage projects (both tangible and digital). She has graduate certificates in Digital Humanities and Economic Development via Sustainable Tourism Management