Arrannè Rispoli
Biography
Arrannè (Uh-Ron-Aye) is a Ph.D. candidate whose research encompasses the histories of race, law, and religion in early America. His dissertation project, tentatively titled “The Justice of Malicious Intent: Capital Punishment and the Architecture of Black Criminality in Early New England,” examines the trans-Atlantic debates over mens rea (criminal intent) and enslavement, which he argues generated the mythologized figure of the “Black criminal” in the colonial imagination.
Publications
- Paige-Rispoli, Arranne G. (2019) “Between the Pulpit and the Gallows: Forging Race and Identity in 18th Century New England,” Madison Historical Review: Vol. 16, Article 6.
Awards & Grants
- Lapidus Fellowship for the Study of Rare Early American Legal Texts, Omohundro Institute and the Wolf Law Library at William & Mary (2025)
- Barry Hittner Fellowship, Rhode Island Historical Society (2025)
- Gary B. Nash Early American Fellowship, UCLA (2023)
- Summer Mentor Research Fellowship, UCLA (2022)
- Charles S. and Myra Jacobwitz Scholarship, University at Buffalo (2018)
- Milton Plesur Scholarship, University at Buffalo (2017)
Conference Presentations
“Can You Find Heavn in a Wildflower? Criminality, Enslavement, and Redemption in Colonial New England,” Washington Early American Seminar, University of Maryland, College Park. Hosted by the Fred. W. Smith National Library for Study of George Washington. Scheduled for May 2, 2025.
“Race, Crime, and Execution in Arthur’s Atlantic Odyssey,” NYU Atlantic History Group, New York University, Spring 2024.
“Race and Redemption Between Boston and Barbary,” The Forum on Early-Modern Empires and Global Interactions, Brown University, Spring 2024.
“African Redeemers in Barbary Captivity Narratives,” Renaissance Society of America, Kings College London (Virtual), Winter 2022.
“Black Bodies and White Hands: Captivity Narratives Along the Barbary Coast,” Race, Racism, and Religion: Silences and Absences, Histories and Methodologies, Columbia University (Virtual), Winter 2022.
“Between the Pulpit and the Gallows: Original Sin, Capital Punishment, and Identity in Eighteenth-Century New England,” Susman Conference, Rutgers University, Spring 2019.
“The Dissemination of Execution Sermons,” Future Professoriate Program Conference, Syracuse University, Spring 2019.
