Curriculum Vitae
JoAnna Boudreaux, PhD.
Department of Sociology,
University of Memphis,
Memphis, TN, 38152.
Academic Appointments
2023- Present
Assistant Professor of Teaching and Internship Coordinator, Department of Sociology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
2022-2023
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
2021-2022
Adjunct Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Science, Southwest Community College, Memphis, Tennessee.
2020-2022
Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Analyst, Graduate Programs, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
2018-2022
Graduate Instructor, Department of Communication and Film, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
2017-2018
Adjunct Instructor, Department of Sociology, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
2015-2017
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Sociology, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
Education
2022
Ph.D., Communication Studies, University of Memphis, Memphis.
Dissertation: Under Her Feet: A Case Study on Motherhood Discourse in a U.S. American Muslim Community. Committee: Katherine Grace Hendrix (Chair), David Gray Matthews, Craig Stewart, Michael Vicente Perez.
2020
Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies, University of Memphis.
2017
MA, Sociology, University of Memphis.
Thesis Title: The Fear Factor: Developing a Framework of Emotional Cognition for Understanding Muslim Americans’ Voting Behavior in 2016. Committee: Junmin Wang (chair), Wesley James, Seth Abrutyn.
2015
BA, Sociology, University of Memphis, Summa Cum Laude.
Minors: African American Studies, Women’s Studies, English. Helen Hardin Honors program participant.
Publications
Books
Boudreaux, JoAnna. (Forthcoming 2024). Borders and Belonging: Theoretical Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and the Making of America. Textbook under contract with Kendall Hunt Publishing.
Boudreaux, JoAnna. 2024. Islam, Motherhood, and Discourses of Faith. Peter Lang Publishers.
Peer-Reviewed Journals
Boudreaux, JoAnna., Cristobal M. Valdebenito, & Latrice C. Pichon. 2025. Identifying Access Barriers to PrEP Among Cisgender Black/African American Women in the United States: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Healthcare, 13(1), 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13010086
Boudreaux, JoAnna. 2022. “Deadening Lives and Identities Held Captive: An Autoethnographic Reflection on My Father’s Death.” Journal of Autoethnography.3(3), 304-312.
Boudreaux, JoAnna. 2020. “The Radical Spiritual Motherhood of Amina Wadud: Black Woman Scholar Speaking Truth to Patriarchy.” Listening Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture, 55 (3), 207-219.
Boudreaux, JoAnna. 2019. “Naming Obstetric Violence; Coercion, Bullying, and Intimidation in Non-evidence Based Childbirth Interventions.” Journal of Mother Studies, 4.
Book Chapters
Boudreaux, JoAnna. 2021. “The Case of Dina Tokio: Using Symbolic Convergence Theory to Understand the Backlash.” In Watkins, B. (Ed.) Research perspectives on social media influencers and their followers. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books: 167-180.
Book Reviews
Boudreaux, JoAnna. 2020. “Drawing the Complexity of Muslim Identity: A Review of Sophia Rose Arjana's Veiled Superheroes Islam Feminism and Popular Culture, In Departures in Critical Research (8) 4:118-121.
Public Scholarship
Boudreaux, JoAnna, 2025. 'Can We Still Come to Class if we want to?" Reflection section of First Publics on The Society Pages. https://thesocietypages.org/firstpublics/2025/04/29/can-we-still-come-to-class-if-we-want-to/
Boudreaux, JoAnna, 2024. "Teaching Sociology in 2025: Navigating the Chaos with Empathy," Uplift Memphis, Uplift the Nation: Voices & Perspectives for Progress, The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis. https://blogs.memphis.edu/benhooksinstitute
Boudreaux, JoAnna & Kendra Murphy, 2024. "AI in the Classroom," Class Notes section of First Publics on The Society Pages. https://thesocietypages.org/firstpublics/2025/01/06/embracing-ai-in-the-sociological-classroom/
Invited Talks
"'Under Her Feet': A Critical Discourse Analysis of Motherhood Rhetoric in an American Muslim Community." Colloquium Presentation, Department of Sociology, University of Memphis (September 2024).
Conference Presentations
“Navigating the Future of AI in the Classroom: ChatGPT as a Tool for Critical Thinking.” Roundtable Discussion. Conference on Learning and Student Success. San Juan, Puerto Rico (April 2025).
"AI Technology and ChatGPT as a Strategy for Critical Thinking." Roundtable Discussion. Teaching Symposium at the American Sociological Association. Montreal, Canada (August 2024).
“My Father died this Summer: Toward a Radical Theory of Relationality and a Politic of Love.”
Top Papers in Ethnography Panel. Southern States Communication Association Conference. Virtual (April 2021).
“On the Border: Between Whiteness and Otherness in the Ms. Marvel Origin Story.” Harboring Hope and Rebuilding Identity: A Critical Approach to Institutions. Southern States Communication Association Conference. Virtual (April 2021).
“What am I? The Social Construction of an Ambiguous Self.” Doing Autoethnography Conference. St. Petersburg, Florida (January 2020).
“The Radical Spiritual Motherhood of Amina Wadud: Black Woman scholar speaking Truth to Patriarchy.” Religious Association Conference. Baltimore, Maryland (November 2019).
“Social bonds and the Islamic Prayer Ritual.” Top papers in Spirituality panel. National
Communication Association. Baltimore, Maryland (November 2019).
“Renaming Unnecessary Childbirth Interventions as Obstetric Violence.” National Communication Association Conference. Baltimore, Maryland (November 2019).
“Unveiling the Veil: Muslim Women and Identity.” Top papers in Gender Studies. Southern States Communication Association Conference. Montgomery, Alabama (April 2019).
Fear factor: Developing a Theory of Emotion-Cognition to understand Muslim American Voting Behavior during the 2016 Presidential election.” University of Chicago Ethnography Conference. Chicago, Illinois (March 2019).
“Muslim Women and Identity Performance.” Presented at the Southern Sociology Society Conference. Greenville, South Carolina (March 2017).
“Ibn Khaldun, Forgotten Father of Sociology.” Association for Black Sociologists Conference, Memphis, Tennessee (October 2016).
Guest Lectures
"Social Groups and Social Order." Introduction to Sociology, University of Memphis (September 2024).
"Processes of Socialization." Introduction to Sociology, University of Memphis (September 2024).
"Research Ethics." Behavioral Intervention Design, University of Memphis (September 2022).
"Autoethnography as Research Method." Methods in Anthropology, University of Memphis (September 2022).
"Islam 101." World Religions. Midland Texas (October 2020).
"Theory of Emotional Cognition to Understand Muslim-American Political Behavior during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election." Religion and Politics, University of Memphis (April 2019).
Grants and Funding
Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) Initiation Speaker Grant – $500 (2025)
Awarded to support guest speaker Dr. John Pruit for the AKD initiation ceremony. Served as event organizer.
Awards and Distinctions
2022 Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Award, The University of Memphis ($500).
2021 Graduate Student Research Award, The University of Memphis.
2021 Osborne Fellowship Recipient, The University of Memphis Department of Communication and Film, ($3,000).
2021 University of Memphis Alumni and Retirees (UMAR) Scholarship recipient ($1,500).
2021 Top Student Paper in Ethnography Division,
Southern States Communication Association, Virtual (April).
2021 Top Student Paper in Spirituality Division, National Communication Association Conference, Baltimore Maryland (November).
2019 Top Student Paper in Women and Gender Studies Division, Southern States Communication Association Conference, Montgomery Alabama (March).
Teaching Experience
Graduate Level Courses:
Social and Behavioral Scientific Principles
Public Health Communication
Undergraduate Level Courses:
Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Medical Sociology
Gender and Society
Marriage and Family
Contemporary Social Theory
Writing in Sociology
Introduction to Sociology
Health Behavior and Theory
Intercultural Communication
Communication and Conflict
Research Methods
Communication Inquiry
Oral Communication
Service and Leadership
Service to Peer-Reviewed Journals
- Editorial Board member for Journal of Religious Communication (2024-present)
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for Journal of Autoethnography (2024).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for Feminist Media Studies (2024).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for Journal HIV/AIDS and Social Services (2022).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for the Journal of Autoethnography (2022).
- Editorial Board for Journal of Mother Studies (2021).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for the Journal of Gender, Place, and Culture (2022).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for the Journal of Autoethnography (2020).
- Ad Hoc Reviewer for Feminist Media Studies (2018).
Service to Discipline
- Textbook Reviewer for Rowman and Littlefield Publishers (2022).
- Textbook Reviewer for MacMillan Publishers (2022).
- Textbook Reviewer for Cognella Publishing Company (2022).
Service to Conferences
- Reviewer for Spiritual Communication Division, National Communication Association (2021).
- Reviewer for Critical Division, National Cultural Division, National Communication Association (2021).
- Reviewer for Feminist and Gender Studies Division, National Communication Association (2020).
- Chair and Respondent for Gender Studies Division, Southern States Communication Association (2020).
- Reviewer for Gender Studies Division, Southern States Communication Association (2019).
- Event Co-Organizer and Chair. “Colloquium of Collaboration” Communication Graduate Student Association, University of Memphis (2019).
- Co-Organizer, Chair, and Respondent. “Balancing the Mix: Popular Music and Social Justice,” The University of Memphis (2019).
- Co-organizer and Volunteer. “Sickle Cell Day,” Sickle Cell Foundation, and The University of Memphis (2018).
Service to Academic Departments
- Internship Coordinator, Sociology Department, University of Memphis, (2024- )
- Alpha Kappa Delta Chapter Representative, Sociology Department, University of Memphis (2024-)
- Jerry Michael Award Committee (2024-)
- Undergraduate Committee, Sociology Department, University of Memphis, (2024-)
- Curriculum Redesign Committee, Department of Communication and Film, The University of Memphis (2020).
Service to Community
- Online Workshop Presentation: “Media Literacy and Covid.” Benjamin Hooks Library (October 2020).
- Workshop Presentation: “Media Literacy Education for Tween/Teens.” Benjamin Hooks Library (March 2020).
- Research Assistant in Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Department, St. Jude’s Research Hospital (August- December 2018).
Professional Development and Memberships
Professional Development
Institute on Teaching Social Action: Rhodes College, Memphis – Spring 2024
Successfully completed the Spring '24 Institute on Teaching Social Action. at Rhodes College in Memphis, an intensive three-day national faculty course development training on social action pedagogy and curriculum, with the goal of creating a transformative college course.
Summer Faculty Development and Teaching Institute – Mastery Track: University of Memphis, Summer 2020
Completed an intensive three-week professional development program focused on the design, development, and delivery of high-quality online courses. The program included synchronous and asynchronous instruction on online pedagogy, instructional technology, and course design. Earned digital badges for each phase and a certificate of completion signed by university leadership.
Professional Memberships
American Sociological Association, Southern Sociological Association, Association for Sociologists of Religion, Diversity Scholars Network. Alpha Kappa Delta.