Curriculum Vitae

CAROL A. FERRARA, PHD

 


PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

2024 Emerson College, Graduate Program Director, Strategic Marketing Communication
2024 Emerson College, Lead Instructional Development Ambassador, Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning (CITL)
2023 Emerson College, Instructional Development Ambassador, Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning (CITL)
2020 Emerson College, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing Communication
2019 Fulbright-EHESS, 2019-2020 Postdoctoral Fellow
 

EDUCATION

2019 Boston University - PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology
2018 The American University of Paris - MA (dual degree) in Middle East & Islamic Studies and International Affairs
2004 Rochester Institute of Technology - BS in International Business
 


SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS

Books

Peer Reviewed 

2023 "Which sway? Athlete activism, teammate allyship and fan patriotism," International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship (published online March 2023). Authors: Brent Smith, Stephanie A. Tryce, Carol Ferrara.
2023 "Breaking the Republican mold: French independent schools and agonistic pluralism amidst Franco-conformity," French Cultural Studies (published online January 2023).
2023 "Secularism in the French context," in Secularism in Comparative Perspective, ed. Jonathan Laurence, Springer, 2023.
2022 "Religious education in French private schools: Categories, conflations, and inequities," British Journal of Religious Education (published online October 2022).
2018 "Transmitting Faith in the Republic: Muslim Schooling in Modern Plural France," Religious Education, 113: 1 (April 2018; published online April 2017).
2016 “Les écoles musulmanes privées sous contrat avec l’État, actrices d’une société française intégrée,” (“Private Muslim schools funded by the state, actors in an integrated French society”: publication in French) in Identités religieuses et cohésion sociale : la France et le Québec à l'école de la diversité. 2016. Paris: Le Bord de l'eau.
2012 “Religious tolerance and understanding in the French education system,” Religious Education, 107: 5 (October/December 2012).

Public Scholarship 


2024 "France’s biggest Muslim school went from accolades to defunding – showing a key paradox in how the country treats Islam," The Conversation, January 26, 2024.
"L’enseignement musulman sous contrat dans le viseur des pouvoirs publics français," The Conversation, January 22, 2024.
2023 "French schools’ ban on abayas and headscarves is supposedly about secularism − but it sends a powerful message about who ‘belongs’ in French culture," The Conversation, September 29, 2023.
2021 “French row over proposed mosque isn’t simply about state financing – it runs deep into Islamophobia and French secularism,” The Conversation, April 15, 2021.
“Self-fulfilling Prophesies: Domestic Terrorism, Islamist Separatism, and Muslim (Non)belonging in France,” EuropeNow, January 2021.
“Secularism: the French case,” Intercultural Lexicon Web Dictionary, Reset Dialogues. (forthcoming)
2020 “Muslim schools are allies in France’s fight against radicalization – not the cause,” The Conversation, November 24, 2020.
2019 “The Catholic-ness of Frenchness: Secular France’s Cultural Catholicism and its Muslim Citizens,” EuropeNow, October 2, 2019.
2016 “Struggling to mieux vivre ensemble: The sobering reality of France’s new plurality,” Contending Modernities: University of Notre Dame Blogs, January 18, 2016.
2015 “Mes observations en tant que chercheuse au sein du lycée Averroès,” (“My observations as a researcher in the high school Averroes”: publication in French). SafirNews.com, February 14, 2015.

Book Reviews

2015 The Republic Unsettled: Muslim French and the Contradictions of Secularism, by Mayanthi Fernando, The Journal of Church and State, Autumn 2015, 57, 4: 777-779


GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS

2019 Fulbright-EHESS Post-Doctoral Award in Social Sciences)
2017 Mellon-Council for European Studies Dissertation Completion Fellowship
Boston University Center for Humanities Dissertation Fellowship (declined)
Boston University Women’s Guild Katherine Conner McLaughlin Scholarship
2015 Muslim Studies Fellowship, Boston University
2013 Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship, Boston University
2011 Muslim Studies Fellowship, Boston University
Class Valedictorian, The American University in Paris
2009 Presidential Scholarship, The American University in Paris


INVITED TALKS

2022 "Hijab as a site of political contestation in Iran and in France," Indiana University, November 11, 2022
2020 “Francité sur les bords : l'identité française, pluralité, et les communautés musulmanes et catholiques,” (presentation in French) Reseau Thematique Pluridisciplinaire, Islam et chercheurs dans les cites, December 10, 2020
“Pious Citizens of the Republic: How Muslims and Catholics are fitting in, sticking out, and breaking the mold in contemporary France,” McGill University, November 20, 2020
“L’enracinement de la foi dans les écoles privées : pourquoi, comment, et avec quels résultats ?” CéSor, École des Hautes Études de Sciences Sociales (EHESS), February 4, 2020
2015 “Religious values in school? The case of Muslim schooling” (presentation in French) Le Centre d'étude du fait religieux contemporain (CEFRELCO), Paris, France, March 2015
2014 “Private Muslim and Catholic education in France,” (presentation in French) for Youth and Cultural Center of Millau, France (Maison de la jeunesse et de la culture; MJC), February 2014


CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION

Papers Presented

2023 “Faithful citizens of the Republic: Muslim and Catholic French national (non)belonging and the consequences for civic engagement,” Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Reykjavik, Iceland, June 2023
2022 “Learning religion in French private schools: categories and conflations through the lens of Muslim, Catholic, and secular case studies,” American Academy of Religion (AAR) conference, Denver, CO, November 2022
2022 “Permissive Pluralism Amidst Franco-Conformity: Independent Schools as Alternative Models of Managing Difference under French Republicanism,” Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Lisbon, Portugal, June 2022
2021 “Breaking the Republican Mold: Independent schooling in France,” Council for European Studies (CES) conference, remotely held, June 2021
2019 “Transmitting faith in the Republic: Learning to be French in private Muslim schools.” (presentation in French) Les établissements scolaires privées musulmanes : une offre éducationnelle comme les autres ? Colloque International, URMIS, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France, November 2019
“I’m here for the mieux vivre ensemble”: analyzing Muslim agency in interfaith initiatives in France.” Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Madrid, Spain June 2019
2018 “Unity or diversity?: Pious Muslims’ and Catholics’ negotiation of national identity in modern France.” Council for European Studies (CES), Chicago, IL, March 2018
2017 “Traditionalism and Islam in the Republic: what Traditionalist Catholicism can tell us about Islam in France.” American Anthropological Association (AAA), Washington, DC, November 2017
“The making of a common enemy: Interreligious consensus amidst secular pluralism in France.” American Academy of Religion (AAR), Boston, MA, November 2017
2016 “Schools with or without God: The Muslim response to France’s laïque education model.” American Academy of Religion (AAR), San Antonio, TX, November 2016
2015 “The New Western Plurality and Citizen Co-Existence: The French Case.” Contending Modernities, University of Notre Dame, (International collaborative project conference), Rome, Italy, June 2015
2014 “Educating “Secular” Europe: rising religious pluralism and the reshaping of (non)religious education” Council for European Studies (CES), Paris, France, March 2014
2013 “Learning to Discriminate: Islamophobia and xenophobia in the French education system/ Learning to discriminate: Islamophobie dans le système éducatif français” (presentation in French) Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at UC-Berkeley; CADIS-EHESS, Paris, France, December 2013
“Broadcasting ‘the other’: Media stereotypes and the quest to uncover the roots of Islamophobia in France.” American Anthropological Association (AAA), Chicago, IL, November 2013
2011 “Religious Tolerance and Understanding in the French Education System:  The impact of socioeconomics, piety and diversity on students’ relationship with religion” The European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA), London, UK, May 2011

Panels Organized

2023 “Civic engagement and (trans)national belonging: Marginality, Migration, and Minority Perspectives,” for Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Reykjavik, Iceland, June 2023
2022 “Dealing with Difference and Discrimination: The Health of Democracy in France,” for Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Lisbon, Portugal June 2022
2019 “Authenticating agency: Muslim leadership and civic engagement in contemporary France” for Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Madrid, Spain June 2019
2018 “Belonging to/in Europe: Negotiating value(s) of nation and identity in uncertain times" for Council for European Studies (CES) conference, Chicago, IL, March 2018

Other panel roles

2023 Panel Chair, “New Directions for Journalism & Democracy,” Boston College, The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, March 17, 2023
2022 Panel Chair, Author-meets-critics, Coping with Defeat: Sunni Islam, Roman Catholicism, and the Modern State (2021) by Jonathan Laurence, Boston College, October 27, 2022
2020 Panel Chair, “Jewish Identity on the Margins in Modern Europe,” American Academy of Religion (AAR), Remote, December 2020
2018 Discussant, “Migrant Integration and Religious Identity in Europe” for American Academy of Religion (AAR), Denver, CO November 2018
2015 Roundtable participant, “Religious education in schools in France and Germany: exploring the challenges, advantages and possibilities across different models.” Journée d’étude, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Paris, France, December 2015


TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Emerson College
BC609 The Responsibility Ladder: People, Power & Policy
DD603 Human-Centric Marketing and Social Responsibility
CC290/IN 212 Global Communication & Cultural Immersion: Paris
MK120 Communication, media, & society
DD 603 Social and Mobile Marketing
MK665 Global Cultures: Applied Anthropology/Sociology
SO210 Religion and secularism in contemporary societies
RL120 Islamic Ways of Life
HI 210 Islam in the World

Boston University
Cultural Anthropology, Teaching Fellow

FIELDWORK & RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2019-2020 France, multi-sited, Post-doctoral research
2013-2015 France, Paris, Lille, Lyon Lead researcher, France, Contending Modernities, Public Ethics and Citizenship in Plural Societies, collaborative international research project sponsored by the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame and the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University
2013-2014 Paris, Lille, Lyon, France; Dissertation fieldwork
2010-2011 Ile-de-France, France; Master’s Thesis fieldwork
2009-2010 Tamil Nadu, India, Researcher, American University in Paris, Auroville
2004 Guadalajara, Mexico, Honors Thesis fieldwork

Media Coverage

2022 Invited guest, “The new Forum of Islam in France” BBC 4 Radio, February 13, 2022
2021 Invited guest, “Flying the flag of secularism: What's behind Macron's Republican values bill?” The Debate, France24 Television

Service to Profession

2024 Manuscript review, British Journal of Religious Education
2023 Manuscript review, British Journal of Religious Education
2022 Manuscript review, British Journal of Religious Education
2021 Manuscript review, British Journal of Religious Education
Manuscript review, Routledge Press
2020 Manuscript review, Bloomsbury Press
2017-2020 Research Editorial Committee Member, EuropeNow Journal
2019-2022 Co-Chair, Religion in Europe Unit, American Academy of Religion
2017-2021 Steering Committee Member, Religion in Europe Unit, American Academy of Religion


LANGUAGES

English (native)
French (fluent) 
Spanish (advanced) 
Standard Arabic (intermediate)


PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Academy of Religion (AAR)
Council for European Studies (CES)
Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA)
American Marketing Association (AMA)


NON-ACADEMIC WORK EXPERIENCE

2017-2019 Consultant, United States Government Agencies
2005-2007 Associate Director, The Bretton Woods Committee, Washington, District of Columbia