My research interests include 'race', racisms and in particular anti-Muslim racism; critical racial literacy; and public sociology. In terms of methodological skills, I am trained in both quantitative and qualitative research methods of data collection and analysis. I have a partiuclar interest in mixed methods approach to research although the majority of my work to date has used qualitative research approaches. I am experienced in using NVivo Qualitative Analytic software as well as SPSS and Stata packages for quantitative statistical analysis. 

Professionalism and a strong ethic of care for students are central pillars of my pedagogic philosophy. At undergraduate level I have lectured from first to fourth year students; I have lectured, tutored and graded assignments for Introductory Sociology Modules; Racism and Society; Qualitative Research Methods (undergraduate and postgraduate), Sociology of Media Audiences; Inequality and Social Exclusion. 

I have supvervised PhD candidates to their successful completion and I have also successfully supervised Masters' dissertations across a number of programmes.

Teaching students from such a diverse range of educational experiences has given me the opportunity to develop my own pedagogical skills and ability to communicate clearly and effectively on a range of topics. In all cases, I always prioritise making the teaching and learning of sociology an interesting, interactive experience while concomitantly ensuring that students are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their studies.

Dr James Carr is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Limerick. In 2016, James published his first book: Experiences of Islamophobia: Living with Racism in the Neoliberal Era (London and New York: Routledge), focusing on anti-Muslim racism in Ireland. In addition to scholarly articles, James has published research with the Immigrant Council of Ireland ('Islamophobia in Dublin: Experiences and how to respond'); and (co)authored the European Islamophobia Report for Ireland (2015-2023). In 2022, James was awarded funding from the European Commission for his project: Sustainable Alliances Against Anti-Muslim Hatred (SALAAM) see https://salaam.ie/, engaging with local authorities in four Irish cities to develop anti-racism interventions. Building on SALAAM, James is currently engaged in a partnership with leading civil society organisations in Germany and Austria on the Reporting Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Racism (RADAR) project, funded by the European Commission.

Funding Awards:

2025-27                 CO-I:  Dr James Carr

CO-I - Funding under the EU Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (DG Justice and Consumers). Dr Carr as partner and Co-I in this project, which is titled Reporting Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Racism (RADAR). Project partners are civil-society organisations CLAIM (Berlin, lead) and Dokustelle (Vienna).

2024-26                 PI:  Dr James Carr

HEA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Enhancement Fund 2024. Project title: Embedding Race Equality Training in Higher Education (EMBRACED). Dr Carr as PI for EMBRACED which is a UL led project with partner institutions: Trinity College Dublin; Mary Immaculate College, Limerick; and University of Galway.

2022 -24               PI:  Dr James Carr

Funding under the EU Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (DG Justice and Consumers). The project, entitled Sustainable Alliances Against Anti-Muslim Hatred (SALAAM) is led by Dr Carr as PI and the University of Limerick as lead coordinating partner of a consortium that includes non-governmental community organisations: Doras, the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Network Against Racism.