BIOGRAPHY

Sarah received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Tulane University. She is a Zwan Postdoctoral Associate at Rice University’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance. Her research examines issues of racial and gendered representation in the Vodun religion. Her current book project analyzes how the Beninese state and Vodun officials are working to re-represent Vodun in both national and global discourses through narratives of blackness, Beninese-ness and Pan-Africanism. Her second book project will analyze how Vodun priestesses, female assistants, and female adepts are empowered through their religious work. She is also currently a researcher on the Boniuk Institute’s “Religious Leadership in Houston and Beyond” project funded by the Arthur Vining David Foundations. Sarah is originally from New Orleans, LA, and being raised there is what sparked her interest in African and Afro-diasporic religious representations. Sarah has two sisters: an older sister who works in tech and a younger sister who is an opera singer. She enjoys visiting museums, trying new foods, and traveling around the world.