TEACHING PROFESSORS AND JUNIOR TEACHING FELLOWS

Professor Régine Jean-Charles, PhD

"Régine Michelle Jean-Charles is a Black feminist literary scholar and cultural critic specializing in francophone studies. She is an associate professor of French and African and African Diaspora Studies at Boston College. Her scholarship and teaching on world literatures in French includes Black France, Sub-Saharan Africa, Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an AM and PhD from Harvard University. She has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Mays Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. She is the author of Conflict Bodies: The Politics of Rape Representation in the Francophone Imaginary (Ohio State University Press, 2014) as well as numerous essays that have appeared in edited volumes and journals such as American Quarterly, French Forum, The Journal of Haitian Studies, Research in African Literatures, Palimpsest, and Small Axe. She is currently working on two book projects: one on black feminist ethics in contemporary Haitian fiction and another on Haitian girlhood in literary and visual texts."

Professor C. Shawn McGuffey, PhD

"C. Shawn McGuffey, Ph.D., is Director of African & African Diaspora Studies and Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston College. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. McGuffey’s professional work primarily highlights how race, gender, sexuality and social class both constrain and create the choices survivors pursue in the aftermath of trauma. Two of his current projects focus on sexual trauma. One examines how gender, sexuality, and race shape parental responses to child sexual abuse; and the other investigates the social psychology of sexual assault survivors in the U.S., Ghana, South Africa, and Rwanda. His most recent project examines Black LGBT political perspectives. Dr. McGuffey is the recipient of three American Sociological Association awards: the 2006 Sally Hacker Award for research excellence, a 2009 “Best Research Article Award,” and a 2016 “Distinguished Article Award.” In 2016 he also received the Kimberlé Crenshaw Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems.

Before the COVID – 19 pandemic, Dr. McGuffey enjoyed practicing the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and competitive eating competitions. Pies and cupcakes remain his gastronomic specialties. Since the viral pandemic, he cultivates joy by making time for daily meditation, training his new rescue dog, and baking pies while listening to old skool hip hop and R & B. "

Professor Nora Gross, PhD

"After completing her PhD in Sociology and Education in 2020 at the University of Pennsylvania, Nora Gross arrived at Boston College this fall as a Core Fellow/Visiting Assistant Professor in Sociology. Her research examines educational inequality with a focus on race, gender, violence, and emotion in secondary school contexts. She is currently at work on three major research projects: 1) an ethnographic book project about the grief of Black adolescent boys after the gun deaths of friends, and the role of their high school in their recovery, 2) a series of articles exploring the emotions and attitudes of white students at elite private high schools in relation to the shifting racial and political climate of their schools, and 3) an edited methods textbook making the case for critical care as a methodological necessity when conducting qualitative research with youth in school settings. Professor Gross is also a documentary filmmaker, photographer, and very amateur painter and loves working and teaching at the intersection of scholarship and art."

Taleah Pierre-Louis

"Taleah Pierre-Louis is a first-generation Haitian American from Boston, Massachusetts. She is a current junior at Boston College studying Applied Psychology and Human Development & African and African Diaspora Studies on the Pre-Law track. Taleah’s interests primarily include education in the Global South, Haitian studies (culture, art, religion), and black feminist theory. With her degrees, Taleah plans to work towards educational reform in the country of Haiti. Her current projects include being a junior teaching fellow for the course From Black Lives Matter to #MeToo at Boston College, being a junior board member for KOSANBA, interning for Haitian Studies Association, and being the outreach director for Vyntage."

Bilguissa Barry

"My name is Bilguissa Barry. I am a junior double majoring in International Studies and African African Studies. I was born and raised in Guinea before moving here for school, the majority of my family is still there including my dad so I go visit as much as I can. Being a TA for this class is an honor, it has sparked my passion and drive to reform rape culture has put me in a position where I will be able to support, mentor, and help students succeed both academically and emotionally."

Grace Assogba

"Grace Assogba is a social strategist and social entrepreneur. A junior at Boston College she is studying International Studies with a concentration in Ethics and Social Justice and a minor in african and african diaspora studies. She is the Founder of Vyntage, a digital media platform that works to amplify representation of gen z bipoc in media with an unapologetic approach to digital storytelling and social campaigns. A current undergraduate representative for the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice, mentor for Sr. Thea's Ladies for the Thea Bowman AHANA Intercultural Center, and Management for Leadership Tomorrow member, her interests are connected by her love of media, business and technology. Her research interests are focused on post-colonial development and the rise of emerging social movements that are at the intersection of Black womanhood, feminism, and francophone societies. Previous involvements include being a senator for UGBC, a co-events coordinator for the ASO, and a dancer on PATU. "

Latifat Odetunde

“Latifat Odetunde is a junior double majoring in Sociology and Africana Diaspora studies. She have been involved on campus throughout her years at BC where she has participated in programs such as the 48 hours council, Bowman Advocates, Pulse, etc. She currently is focused on engaging in research to fulfill her career aspirations of becoming a Professor. As well as her new channel series Black Muslim TV on Instagram in order to center the experiences of Black Muslims.”

ART LAB CLASS ROSTER

Professor Nora Gross, PhD (Lab Instructor)