About
My research and teaching broadly focuses on the intersection of race and religion, particularly in relation to Jews and Muslims, in contemporary France. My work is interdisciplinary, intersecting with cultural studies, media studies, literary studies, and applied linguistics. I am currently working on two main projects. The first is a manuscript tentatively titled Beyond Jewish-Muslim Relations, which examines and challenges the construction of a polarized, oppositional category of "Jewish-Muslim relations" in media and political discourse in France.
The second relates to the politics of conversion to and apostasy from Islam. In a contemporary French (and Western) context where Islam is increasingly politicized, studying the related phenomena of apostasy and conversion may illuminate the selective ways in which diverse media and political actors often weaponize Islam and (ex-)Muslims. As a preliminary form of inquiry into this topic, I am currently co-editing and contributing to a special issue of Contemporary French Civilization titled "Leaving Islam in the French-Speaking World: Politics, Representation and Lived Experience."
I am also the co-editor of a special issue of the Journal of Language and Sexuality (Jan. 2021) on the topic of Pink Dot, an LGBT movement that began in Singapore in 2009.
Selected Publications
"Pink Dot: Ten Years On," Journal of Language and Sexuality, 10(2), 2021, pp. 97–105. Co-authors: Pavan Mano & Robert Phillips.
"Paradoxes and limitations in enacting Jewish-Muslim dialogue in contemporary France: case studies of interreligious and intercultural dialogue initiatives," Modern & Contemporary France, 29(4), 2021, pp. 379–397.
"Jews and Muslims in Contemporary French Newspaper Discourse (2000-2017)," French Cultural Studies, 32(1), 2021, pp. 26–41.
"The Politics of Nostalgia and Pessimism: Jewish-Muslim Relations in Thierry Cohen's Avant la haine," Francosphères, 9(2), 2020, 167–192.
"Shalom alikoum! Challenging the conflictual model of Jewish-Muslim relations in France through stand-up comedy," in Jewish-Muslim Interactions: Performing Cultures Between North Africa and France, edited by Samuel Sami Everett & Rebekah Vince. Francophone Postcolonial Studies Series, Liverpool University Press, 2020, pp. 273–292.
Recent Courses Taught
Race, Religion, and Coloniality
Humor, Satire and Islam(ophobia) in France
