Katherine (Katie) North is a PhD student in the Italian department at Columbia University. She earned her BA in European Studies magna cum laude from Bates College in 2023 where she received the Drake R Bradley Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. In 2025, she completed her M.A. in European History, Politics, and Society from Columbia University, supported by a European Institute grant to complete her thesis, “Mountains as Imaginations of Italianità from the Risorgimento to the Fascist Period.” Her research interests include modern Italian cultural history, environmental humanities, transnational border regions, and the impact of geography in shaping experiences of nationalism and regionalism in Italy.