Caroline Leffert

Caroline Leffert is a Center for Ethics Graduate Fellow at The Murphy Institute and a PhD candidate in Tulane’s City, Culture, and Community doctoral program in the Department of Sociology. Her research explores public perceptions on immigration through social constructs of love and marriage through her dissertation titled, Is Love Enough?: Cultural Discourses on Love and Public Perception of Immigrant Deservingness, written under the direction of Prof. Lisa Wade

Born and raised in Dallas, TX, Leffert is a curious social science researcher and dramatic storyteller. Following her undergraduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis, she relocated to Washington, DC and settled into the role of executive associate at a pro-immigration advocacy organization, while working in various area theaters at night. Four years in the vibrant DC advocacy space inspired Caroline to want to learn more about the research that informed policy. She returned to school for her master’s degree in social sciences from the University of Chicago. There, she focused on qualitative research methodology and conducted interviews as part of her master’s thesis on the intersection of ethnic and religious identities at a Croatian Catholic Church in Chicago. Caroline integrates her previous experiences in academic and professional research to better understand how transnationalism and the cultural inheritances of religion interact with the unequal structures of daily life.

The Center for Ethics Graduate Fellowship provides support to outstanding Tulane doctoral students who have excelled in their fields of specialization, have demonstrated an interest in ethical questions that cut across disciplinary boundaries, and are likely to make significant contributions to teaching and scholarship in their respective fields.