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Postdoctoral Fellow Accomplishments
The Religion and Diversity Project is pleased to have (and have had) so many talented postdoctoral fellows involved in its programme.
Interested in reading some of our postdoctoral fellows’ publications? If so, click here to be redirected to our reading corner.
Al-Dabbagh, Harith (2010-2012)
Supervisor: Jean-François Gaudreault-Desbiens
Where is he now?
Harith Al-Dabbagh is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law, specializing in comparative private law and private international law at the Université de Montréal. Trained in comparative and civil law, his most recent work explores phenomena related to legal pluralism, notably on the interaction between religious and secular norms. He has published several works on these questions in both French and Arabic.
Publications:
- Al-Dabbagh, Harith. 2013-2014. « Le statut juridique des minorités non-musulmanes en Irak: Heurs et malheurs du pluralisme juridique, » Annuaire Droit et Religions, 7 : 319-376.
- Al-Dabbagh, Harith. 2004. La clause de réserve de propriété dans les ventes mobilières à crédit: Étude de droit comparé français et irakien, coll. « Centre Pierre Kayser », Aix-en-Provence, P.U.A.M.
- Al-Dabbagh, Harith. 2003. La vente à tempérament : Étude de droit comparé, Irbid, Editions Dar al-kitab al-hadith [published in Arabic].
Al-Fartousi, May (2014-2016)
Supervisor: Lori Beaman
Where is she now?
After having completed her posdoctoral research, May developed a non-profit organization with two colleagues entitled Niagara Women’s Research Centre for Social Support and Leadership (Registration # 1954503) that will work in part to raise awareness of and reduce the stigma associated with religious discrimination experienced by Muslim females (including individuals within the 10 community centre sites that she visited during her posdoctoral research). Some of the future potential plans for this organization include implementation of a specialized training program for insider community advocates, and creation of a confidential peer support network through educational workshops tailored to the identified needs and demographics of each community.
With respect to her engagement in scholarly activities since 2014, May had (a) authored a manuscript that was published in the Journal of Curriculum Studies, (b) authored a book chapter manuscript that was published through Praeger Publisher, and (c) delivered three scholarly conference presentations at Religion and Diversity Project events, and the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR). Furthermore, she was invited to lead a workshop at the “White Privilege Symposium” (part of an American Conference) in which she incorporated some of the posdoctoral findings about Canadian Muslim women’s experiences in the workplace along with excerpts from the paper she presented at “Reposing the Muslim Question Panel” in St. John’s, NL. This workshop was accepted for publication in an interdisciplinary journal entitled Understanding and Dismantling Privilege. She has also been engaged in various service activities within and beyond her university. Specifically, she delivered over 20 presentations for Muslim Shi’i youth in the Montreal, Hamilton, and Niagara regions. Indeed, the SHHRC funding, and the support she received from the Religion and Diversity Project helped her to cover travel costs, which allowed her to participate in Canadian conferences and workshops, and to successfully complete her posdoctoral research.
Publications:
- Al-Fartousi, May. 2016. “Enhancing contextualized curriculum: integrated identity in young Shi’i Muslim Arabic-Canadian students’ social worlds,” In Journal of Curriculum Studies, 48(2): 192-225.
Barras, Amélie (2014-2016)
Supervisor: Solange Lefebvre
Where is she now?
Amélie Barras is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at York University. Her main research interests are tied to the relationship between politics, religion and law in and beyond Canada. She is also a member of the Socio-Legal Studies Graduate Program and the Graduate Program in Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies. She has recently published her first book, in which she documents the work of activists fighting headscarf bans in France and Turkey (Refashioning Secularisms in France and Turkey. The case of the headscarf ban. Routledge, 2014). She continues to conduct research on the relationship between French secularism, law and Islam, and is finishing a collaborative project that she had started during her postdoctorate on Islam in Canada with Jennifer Selby (Memorial University) and Lori Beaman (University of Ottawa). They are currently working on a manuscript that explores how Muslims in Canada negotiate their religion in their everyday lives. Finally, she will be starting a new project funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant that explores the work of faith-based activists at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. She is particularly interested in documenting the extent to which these activists contribute and shape the direction of human rights discussions at the HRC, and the creation of new human rights standards internationally.
Publications:
- Barras, Amélie, S. Nicolet et F. Dermange. 2015-2016. « Réguler le Religieux dans les Sociétés Libérales?, » Labor et Fides. http://www.laboretfides.com/?page_id=3&product_id=687242.
- Barras, Amélie. 2014.Refashioning Secularisms in France and Turkey: The struggle of devout Muslim women for full citizenship rights, New York: Routledge. http://www.tandf.net/books/details/9780415821780/
- Barras, Amélie with J. Selby and L. Beaman. 2016. “Religion as Visible and Invisible in Public Institutions: Canadian Muslims Public Servants,” in Religion and the Exercise of Public Authority, edited by Benjamin Berger and Richard Moon, Hart Publishing.
Behiery, Valerie (2011-2013)
Supervisor: Valérie Amiraux
Where is she now?
Valerie’s postdoctoral research focused on the representations of the “Burqa” in Canadian daily newspapers post-9/11. She was a postdoctoral fellow with the Centre d'études ethniques des universités montréalaises (CEETUM), at the Université de Montréal from 2010-2013.
Publications:
- Behiery, Valerie. “A Short History of the (Muslim) Veil,” In Implicit Religion, 16(4): 413–441.
- Behiery, Valerie. 2009. « Discours alternatifs du voile dans l’art contemporain, » Dans Sociologie et sociétés, XLI, 2: 299-325.
- Behiery, Valerie. “The Veiled Muslim Woman as Subject in Contemporary Art: The Role of Location, Autobiography, and the Documentary Image,” In Implicit Religion, 16(4): 387–412.
Dejean, Frédéric (2010-2012)
Supervisor: Valérie Amiraux
Where is he now?
Frédéric Dejean holds a Doctorate in Urban Studies (INRS-UCS de Montréal and Université de Paris Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense). He pursued posdoctoral research for three years at the Université de Montréal in Sociology (Canada Research Chair in Religious Pluralism), in Ethics (Posdoctoral Fellowship from the Centre de recherche en éthique) and in Urban Planning (Posdoctoral Fellowship from the Fonds de recherche société et culture du Québec), which allowed him to deepen his expertise in the theme of cultural diversity in the contemporary Québec context.
In June 2014, he joined IRIPI, where he develops, designs and pursues applied research and action research projects in the field of social and occupational integration of immigrant workers.
His expertise in the sociology of religions in the context of diversity and interculturalism has led to his involvement in applied research at Collège de Maisonneuve.
http://iripi.ca/fr/a-propos/equipe/frederic-dejean/
Publications:
- Dejean, Frédéric. 2016. « L’encadrement urbanistique des lieux de culte : le pouvoir local à l’épreuve de la diversité religieuse à travers l’exemple de Montréal, » dans L'Information géographique.
- Dejean, Frédéric. 2013. « État de littérature - La ‘justice spatiale’ : revue des savoirs francophones et anglophones, » dans Critique internationale, 61.
Francis, Matthew (2012-2015)
Supervisor: Kim Knott
Where is he now?
Matthew Francis is the Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University. He is the Communications Director for the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST). As well as overseeing CREST’s engagement with the media and other interested audiences he also leads on translating research conducted by the Centre, which is then presented to their stakeholders. This involves making sure that the content and style of research publications about security threats is intelligible and useful for non-academic users. He is based in the Psychology Department in Lancaster, but his background is in the history and sociology of religion. In particular his research focuses on the role non-negotiable religious and non-religious beliefs play in motivations to and justification of violent behaviour.
He founded and is the Editor of the website RadicalisationResearch.org, set-up with funding from the AHRC and ESRC and currently funded by CREST. Radicalisation Research brings high-quality academic research on radicalisation, extremism and fundamentalism to the attention of people working in policy, media, education and other sectors interested in these topics.
Publications:
- Francis, Matthew. 2016. “Why the ‘sacred’ is a better resource than ‘religion’ for understanding terrorism,” In Terrorism and Political Violence, 28(5): 912-927.
- Francis, Matthew. 2015. “Students’ perspective: the role of mentor and supervisor,” In Modernities, memory, mutations, Farnham : Ashgate.
- Francis, Matthew, with A. Dinham and M. Francis. 2015. Religious literacy in policy and practice. Bristol: Policy Press. 256 p. ISBN: 9781447316657.
- Francis, Matthew and A. van Eck Duymaer van Twist. 2015. “Religious literacy, radicalisation and extremism,” In Religious literacy in policy and practice, Bristol: Policy Press:257-270.
Grigore, Monica (2015-2016)
Supervisor: Lori Beaman
Where is she now?
Monica Grigore is a current postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Classics and Religious studies at the University of Ottawa. She is studying the local regulation of religion. Grigore’s project aims to explore how the transformation of space (religious and secular) happens in everyday life and how the boundary between “religious” and “secular” is “constructed, negotiated, transgressed and policed” (Knott, 2015: 217) by people (administrators and residents) of the metropolitan area of Montreal. Considering that the transformation of the space is not unidirectional but bidirectional— she uses four case studies as our primary points of reference: 1) Sharing Religious Space; 2) Religious to Secular Space; 3) Commercial Use to Sacred Space; and 4) Forgotten and Problematic Spaces. To date she has conducted 41 semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and research in archives. However, more data will be gathered, as the fieldwork is still ongoing.
Publications:
- Grigore, Monica. 2015. “Tamara’s Illness: Pilgrims, Fate, and Lived Religion in Post- Communist Romania,” In Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, 7(1): 39-51.
Hoverd, William (2011-2012)
Supervisor: Lori Beaman
Where is he now?
William Hoverd is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, College of Humanities, and Social Sciences, Massey University. William is the CDSS Internship Programme coordinator which places Massey Students into workplace applied research projects in government agencies. He also teaches into the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College.
http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/expertise/profile.cfm?stref=429102
Publications:
- Hoverd, William and K. Strehle. 2016. “The Atheist Bus Campaign in New Zealand: From Buses to Billboards,” In The Atheist Bus Campaign: Global Manifestations and Responses, edited byS. Tomlins and S. Bullivant, Brill Publishing.
- Hoverd, William. 2016. “Implications for National Security from the 2016 Defence White Paper,” In Defence White Paper Symposium, Centre for Strategic Studies, NZIIA, & Centre for Defence and Security Studies.
- Hoverd, William, C. Paul, and N. Nelson. 2014. “A Promising Thaw,” In Proceedings Magazine, 140(9/1,339): 60-65.
Macdonald, Arlene (2010-2011)
Supervisor: Lori Beaman
Where is she now?
Arlene Macdonald is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch. Arlene's research and teaching interests are situated at the intersection of religion, medicine and media in North America. Her research queries the place of religion in the medical arena, and in the public sphere more broadly. The spiritual lives of patients, religious responses to medical technologies, the employment of moral discourse in health promotion, and the accommodation of religious diversity in healthcare are areas of specialization.
She is also a Research Associate with the Religion and Diversity Project.
Martínez-Ariño, Julia (2013-14)
Supervisor: Solange Lefebvre
Where is she now?
Julia Martínez-Ariño is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity (Göttingen, Germany).
Julia is also one of the Research Associates in the Religion and Diversity Project and of the ISOR research group, directed by Mar Griera, at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is currently a member of the “Religion and Public Institutions” research network and the Spanish representative in the EUREL project at the University of Strasbourg. Her research interests include Judaism and contemporary Jewish communities, the processes of deconfessionalisation and demonopolisation of the state, and the governance and accommodation of religious diversity in public institutions, such as hospitals, prisons and schools, and in cities.
Publications:
- Martínez-Ariño, Julia with M. Griera. 2017. “The Accommodation of Religious Diversity in Prisons and Hospitals in Spain,” In Multireligious Society. Dealing with Religious Diversity in Theory and Practice, edited by F. Colom González and Gianni D'Amato, London & New York: Routledge: 251-266.
- Martínez-Ariño, Julia. 2016. “Being Jew is like travelling by bus: Constructing Jewish identities in Spain between individualisation and group belonging,” In Journal of Religion in Europe, 9(4): 324-349.
- Martínez-Ariño, Julia. 2016. « Grupos religiosos y gobierno local en interacción: Un estudio de caso en Francia, » In Sociedad y Religion, 46(26) : 201-223.
- Martínez-Ariño, Julia with S. Lefebvre. 2016. “Resisting or Adapting? How Private Catholic High Schools in Quebec Respond to State Secularism and Religious Diversification,” In Eurostudia, 11(1): 19-44.
Nabti, Mehdi (2011-2013)
Supervisor: Patrice Brodeur
Where is he now?
Mehdi Nabti is a SSHRC-funded Posdoctoral researcher (2011-2013), and teaches at the Université de Montréal. He regularly published academic writings and has created music on albums. Mehdi is the co-founder and trainer for an organization based out of Montreal called Eurêka! Art et dialogue interculturel.
Publications:
- Nabti, Mehdi. 2010. « Le mussem de Meknès. Le déclin d'une tradition spirituelle, » Dans L'Homme, 193.
- Nabti, Mehdi. 2007. « Des soufis en banlieue parisienne : Mise en scène d'une spiritualité musulmane, » Dans Archives de sciences sociales des religions, 140.
Pasche, Florence (2012-)
Supervisor : Pamela Klassen
Where is she now?
Florence Pasche is a posdoctoral researcher at the Université de Fribourg in Switzerland. She has also taught courses at the University, as well as at the University of Toronto.
http://www.unifr.ch/sr/fr/equipe/collaborateurs/florence-pasche-guignard
Publications:
- Pasche, Florence. Forthcoming. Comparative exercises in the study of religions: A differential exploration of feminine figures in religious contexts (version revisée de la thèse de doctorat, en préparation).
- Pasche, Florence. Forthcoming. Mommy Nature. Natural Parenting at the Confluence of Religion, Environmentalism and Technology. (Projet de livre basé sur la recherche posdoctorale).
- Pasche, Florence. 2016. “Lessons in Life on the Verge of Death: Spiritual Mothering in Ai Laṛkī by Hindi Author Krishna Sobti,” in Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, 7(1).
Smith, Lisa (2014)
Supervisor : Lori Beaman
Where is she now?
Lisa Smith is a sociologist and instructor at Douglas College interested in religion, health, and the social construction of childhood and youth. Lisa's postdoctoral fellowship, which involved a discourse analysis of the Charter of Values, was funded by Lori Beaman's Canada Research Chair in the Contextualization of Religion in a Diverse Canada and supported by the Religion and Diversity Project.
Teinturier, Sara (2015-2016)
Supervisor: Solange Lefebvre
Where is she now?
Sara Teinturier est titulaire d’un doctorat (Université de Rennes 1) récompensé par le prix de thèse de l’Association française de sciences sociales des religions (AFSR). Elle continue ses recherches socio-historiques sur les reconfigurations du religieux dans les sociétés contemporaines. Elle a été post-doctorante au Groupe Sociétés Religions Laïcités (GSRL, EPHE-CNRS, Paris). Depuis l’été 2015, elle est post-doctorante à la Chaire en gestion de la diversité culturelle et religieuse (Université de Montréal), où elle poursuit en lien avec le projet Religion et Diversité une étude sur religion et éducation au Canada. Dans ce cadre, elle a présenté plusieurs communications et prépare plusieurs articles.
http://sarateinturier.caregesile.eu/presentation/
Publications:
- « L'Église et les bulles. Les représentations du catholicisme dans la bande dessinée francophone (années 1990-2010) », dans Études d'histoire religieuse (Québec), vol. 82, no 1, p. 57-74, 2016.
- « L'enseignement catholique face à la diversité religieuse. Expériences françaises et québécoises », dans Mercier Charles, Warren Jean-Philippe (dir.), À l'école de la diversité, l'expression des identités religieuses en France et au Québec, Éditions Bord, p. 249-253, 2016.
Vergani, Matteo (2013-2015)
Supervisor : Gary Bouma
Where is he now?
Matteo Vergani is an Associate Research Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University. He has a PhD in Sociology (2011, Catholic University of Milan), and has submitted a second PhD in Political Science at Monash University (2016).
He has researched extremism (especially online), social cohesion and related issues in Australia and Europe using quantitative and qualitative methods, and has taught Sociology and Political Science subjects with focus on security, social movements and political violence.
He is a regular contributor on the SBS Italian radio program, providing weekly political commentary and analysis.
He enjoys field research and has conducted research and volunteered in social programs in Latin America (Brazil and Nicaragua), in the Middle East (Palestine) and Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan).
Publications:
- Vergani, Matteo, Barton, G., and Iqbal, M. (forthcoming), “Beyond social relationships: investigating positive and negative attitudes towards violent protest within the same social movement,” In Journal of Sociology.
- Iqbal, M., K. S. O’Brien, A.M. Bliuc and Matteo Vergani. 2016. “Death Reminders Increase Agreement With Extremist Views but Not Violent Extremist Action in Indonesian Muslims,” In Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
- Vergani, Matteo, A. Johns, M. Lobo and F. Mansouri. 2016. “Examining Islamic religiosity and civic engagement in Melbourne,” In Journal of Sociology.
- Vergani, Matteo and E.M. Tacchi. 2016. “When Catholics turn right: the effects of the Islamic terrorism threat on the fragmented Catholic Italian voters,” In Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Le Berkley Center at Georgetown University a été créé au sein du bureau de John J. DeGioia, Président de Georgetown, en mars 2006. Le centre a été conçu afin de miser sur les forces de Georgetown: l'excellence académique; son emplacement à Washington, DC; sa portée internationale et sa tradition catholique et jésuite d'ouverture aux autres religions et au vaste monde séculier. Le généreux soutien de William R. Berkley, un membre du conseil d'administration de l'université, a permis la croissance rapide du centre.
Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez cliquer ici.
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The Project is happy to provide information about research centres, initiatives and projects across Canada and beyond that are focusing on the examination of religion, diversity, pluralism and society through its “Research Centres” page. Led by our Team Member Pamela Klassen and housed at the University of Toronto, the mandate of the Religion in the Public Sphere initiative is to examine how religion manifests in public spaces, institutions, and interactions, and consider the challenges and possibilities of religious diversity in Toronto and around the globe. To learn more about this initiative, please click here.
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