Education
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
M.A. , University of Notre Dame
M.Litt., University of St. Andrews
B.A., Hampshire College
Background
Born and raised in a small Massachusetts town by two Franco-American parents from Maine, Castonguay (KAS-ton-GAY) has been hooked on history since she got her first library card. In her professional and educational career to date, she has worked at a number of historical institutions across the state, from Lowell National Historical Park and the Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith College as a high school and college student, to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston as a research assistant before beginning her doctorate. Her professional studies have taken her to Spain, Scotland, and Morocco, while her personal interests have brought her to Egypt, Turkey, Japan, Korea, France, Italy, and Greece. Castonguay is also an alumnus of both the Fulbright Program and Social Science Research Council, as well as a member of a number of professional historical organizations.
Before getting her doctorate, Castonguay worked in the (then-emerging) field of digital wellness and wearable technology, teaching people how to get better sleep by wearing a funny headband, and building better websites.
Website:
Interests
North Africa
Mediterranean World
Islamic World
Social Networks
Islamic Political Theology
Law and Society
Gender Studies
European Middle Ages
Religious Practice and Belief
Book & Manuscript History
Courses Taught
LA-110 Introduction to the Liberal Arts
HIST-205 World History pre-1500 CE
HIST-190 The African Mediterranean: From Perpetua to the Portuguese
HIST-290 The Greeks and the East
HIST-290 Rome
HIST-291 Holy Wars
HIST-365 Islam and the Caliphates
HIST-390 Medieval Biology, Bondage and Power
