Rice U. French studies expert available to discuss aftermath of Paris terrorist attack

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Rice U. French studies expert available to discuss aftermath of Paris terrorist attack

HOUSTON – (Jan. 9, 2015) – Following Wednesday’s terrorist attack on the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, will there be an anti-Muslim backlash in France?

Julie Fette, an associate professor of French studies at Rice University, has written a book about xenophobia in France, “Exclusions: Practicing Prejudice in French Law and Medicine, 1920-1945,” and teaches a course at Rice on immigration and citizenship in contemporary French society. She is available to discuss a range of issues related to the terrorist attacks and Muslims in France, including French approaches to freedom of press and speech, Muslims in French society and France’s experience with terrorism.

Fette said French society “wants” to integrate Muslims but often fails. But France doesn’t fail any more than the United States fails to integrate its minorities, she said. “France and the United States share the goal of integrating their diverse populations into a harmonious, tolerant social order, but their models for achieving the goal can be very different and can each have exclusionary side effects,” Fette said.

News media who want to interview Fette should contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

Watch Fette discussing France on KTRK-TV (ABC-13 Houston) Jan. 9:

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

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Related materials:

Fette biography: http://french.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=206.

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