Alexa Rae Barger
Ph.D. Student
Alexa Barger is a PhD candidate in the French section of the Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies. Her dissertation, “Working Together,” examines the roles of solidarity and care in writings and artistic representations of labor in France. Specifically, she looks at how working artists of African and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds represent “life on the job” in France, and how the specificities of their experience can foster possibilities for collaborative and transformative practices.
Alexa adores teaching and is serving as the department’s Teaching Assistant Consultant for Fall 2024. She is also interested in the role of multilingualism in contemporary France, including the ongoing role of “regional languages” and identities in mainland France.
She is the current graduate student representative (2023-25) for the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association, taking place in Palm Springs in 2024 and in San Francisco in 2025. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, exploring LA’s cultural and culinary diversity, and pretending she can sing.
Education
- M.A. Comparative Literature, San Francisco State University, 2020
- B.A. Transcultural Francophone Studies, minor in Spanish and Spanish American Studies, Mills College, 2018
Interviews
Interviews with Ana Bayat, Marie Ostby, Amin Moghadam, and Shirin Vossoughi on With a Trace: Documenting and Sharing the Experiences of the Iranian Diaspora.
“Media Matters: discussing journalism in the age of Trump with Aboubakr Jamaï.” The Campanil, 11 March 2017.
Articles
- “Memory, Text, and Power: Ken Bugul, Edward Said, and Colonial Education.” Portals: A Journal of Comparative Literature, vol. 16, Spring 2019.
- “Slavery and Black Womanhood in Post-Abolition Literature.” Mills Academic Research Journal, Spring 2017.
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