Originally from Austin, Texas, Julia O’Keefe is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the joint Latin American Studies and Art History program. She attained her B.A. in Art with a concentration in Art History in 2011 at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. With the completion of her master’s thesis, entitled Immortal Tepetlacalli: An exploration of the corporeal and sacred box form, she earned her M.A. in Art History at Tulane in 2014. Prior to beginning her master‘s degree, she tutored students with learning challenges at Front Range Community College and worked for a National Parks Service project geared towards restoring ecological balance to historical sites. Julia’s research concentrates on investigating the development of Aztec material culture as a product and reflection of established ritual and political structures. Her interests also include Mesoamerican funerary traditions, antiquarianism in Aztec art and architecture, and the dissemination of ideas through cross-cultural contact.
