My research explores how language reflects and constructs identity, belonging, and power.
Working primarily through ethnographic and sociolinguistic methods, I study how language ideology and communicative practices influence cultural expression and educational experience. Drawing from linguistic and cultural anthropology, my work examines how people use language to negotiate history, place, and self—especially where local identity and global discourse intersect. My central focus is on understanding how language practices facilitate identity, belonging, and cultural continuity.
Research Interests
Language, Equity, and Pedagogy
· Linguicism, language-based discrimination, and linguistic equity
· Managing complexity in ESL/EMI and developing adaptive teaching practices
· Metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness in learning
Sociolinguistics and Language Ideologies
· Metapragmatic awareness in interaction
· Language attitudes and their social consequences
· Ideologies of authenticity and representation in Cajun language and media
Anthropology of Language, Communication, and Belonging
· Ethnography of communication and multimodal embodied interaction
· Contemporary Cajun language practices, belonging, and cultural continuity
Current Projects
Linguicism and Language Activism — Forthcoming; co-authored textbook chapter on linguicism and equitable language practices in university contexts
Putting on the Poo-Yai: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Cajun Authentication Practices — Manuscript in preparation; co-authoring a critical discourse analysis of Cajun authentication practices and representations of Cajunness across digital and popular media in contemporary cultural markets, with Dr. Nicole Stanford.
Resonant Belongings: Comparative Ethnography of Identity, Belonging, and Cultural Continuity in Gathering Spaces of the Acadian Diaspora — Doctoral research proposal; developing a framework to explore how linguistic and embodied communicative practices enact belonging within—and potentially across—Cajun, Acadian, and French regional contexts, with attention to cultural continuity and translocal identity.
La Poussiere: Rhythms of Identity, Belonging, and Cultural Continuity in a Cajun Dance Hall — A conference paper based on an ethnographic study of a Cajun dance hall, examining how belonging is enacted through embodied participation, multimodal communication, and intergenerational continuity.
· Tulane Linguistics Conference (T-CoL), 2026
· Global Souths Conference, 2026
Teaching English Across Contexts: A Practicum Study of Multilingual Learner Support in Secondary, Adult, and University Settings — Practicum capstone project; examining teacher adaptability and learner engagement across institutional contexts.
Managing Complexity in ESL Classrooms: Rethinking Bloom’s Taxonomy and Higher-Order Thinking — Conference presentation and workshop investigating the relationship between cognitive frameworks and communicative language teaching in multilingual learning environments.
· LaTESOL Conference, 2025