People
Ara Francis
Profile
This individual is not a direct affiliate of the Berkley Center. They have contributed to one or more of our events, publications, or projects. Please contact the individual at their home institution.
Ara Francis is a microsociologist exploring the cultural history of the hospice model and the "death positive" movement. Her current research examines how white femininity shapes modern ideals of dying well. Author of Family Troubles: Middle-Class Parents, Children's Problems, and the Disruption of Everyday Life (2015), which analyzed middle-class parenting and childhood disability, she now focuses on the intersections of identity and morality. She teaches courses on the sociological perspective, social control, and the complex realities of death and dying at the College of the Holy Cross.