Lara Descartes, PhD

Books

• Descartes, L., & Kottak, C. P. (2009). Media and middle class moms: Images and realities of work and family. New York: Routledge.
• Rudd, E., & Descartes, L. (Eds.). (2008). The changing landscape of work and family in the American middle class: Reports from the field. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Chapters and Reports

• Descartes, L. (2016). Single lesbian mothers. In M. Motapanyane (Ed.), Motherhood and lone/single parenting: A 21st century perspective (pp. 193-204). Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.
• Blank, T., Descartes, L., Asencio, M. (2015). Cancer screening in gay and bisexual men and transgender people. In U. Boehmer & R. Elk (Eds.), Cancer and the LGBT community: Unique perspectives from risk to survivorship (pp. 99-116). New York: Springer.

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals

• Descartes, L., & Goldman, J. A. (2021). Messages about foods in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Considering their implications for youth health. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 49(4), 293-309. Published online May, 2021. doi.org/10.1111/fcsr.12399
• Descartes, L. (2020). An exploratory study of single and coupled lesbian mothers’ experiences with social support. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, 12, 269-287.
• Goldman, J. A., & Descartes, L. (2016). Food depictions in picture books for preschool children: Frequency, centrality, and affect. Appetite, 96, 203-208. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.018.

Conferences

• Descartes, L. (2023, June). Reflections upon coding food in children’s literature. 39th Qualitative Analysis Conference. Kelowna, BC.
• Descartes, L., & Rosenzweig Espinal, J. (2022, July). Content analysis of foods in children’s picture books available in Mexico. Twenty-ninth International Conference on Learning. Valencia, Spain.
• Blank, T., & Descartes, L. (2018, Nov.). Males caring for males: Are they different from other caregiving gender dyads? Gerontological Society of America 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting. Boston, MA.
• Goldman, J., & Descartes, L., (2018, June). Messages about desirable foods presented in books for young children: Are we promoting healthy food choices? Administration for Children and Families 2018 National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC). Washington, D.C.
• Goldman, J., & Descartes, L. (2016, Sept.). Cookies or carrots: Food messages presented in media designed for young children. 2016 “Making sense of: Food, exploring the food experience, the food project: 5th global meeting,” Mansfield College, Oxford, UK.
• Descartes, L. (2016, March). Single lesbian mothers and support: Implications for service and information providers. Presented at the Rainbow Health Ontario 2016 Conference, London, ON.
• Descartes, L. (2015, June). Skype and the ethnographer. Presented at the 32nd Annual Qualitative Analysis Conference, London, ON.
• Descartes, L., & Goldman, J. (2014, July). Food and picture books: Relating two aspects of the everyday environments of young children. Presented at the 5th International Conference at the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth, Sheffield, UK.

Visit  Google Scholar for a comprehensive list of publications.

Please contact Lara Descartes directly at ldescart@uwo.ca for more information about potential opportunities.

• Dean’s Honour Roll of Teaching, Brescia University College (2022, 2021, 2019, 2015, 2011, 2010)
• University of Michigan Teaching Fellow (2001)