Banafsheh Karamifar

Banafsheh Karamifar is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and French as a Second Language (FSL). An interdisciplinary researcher in discourse analysis, interpretive semantics, second-language pedagogy, and emerging technologies, her work examines the connections between language, power, and linguistic and cultural diversity in the age of artificial intelligence. With extensive teaching experience at the university level in Canada and abroad, she has also led numerous inter-institutional research projects, particularly on course hybridization (HyFlex), pedagogical innovation, and the integration of digital tools in higher education. Her publications, book chapters, and scholarly presentations explore AI as a sociotechnical artifact as well as the discursive, cultural, and critical dynamics of the Francophonie in multilingual contexts.

• Ph.D. in Language Sciences – Paris X University, 2010
  Dissertation: Language and Power: A Semantic-Critical Analysis of Cosmetic Advertisements in Iran Before and After the Islamic Revolution

• Master’s in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) Didactics – Tarbiat Modares University, 2004

           Dissertation : De l'imaginaire à la créativité dans un cours de FLE

• Bachelor’s in French Language and Literature – Shahid Beheshti University, 2002

• Assistant Professor (tenure-track) – Laurentian University, School of Liberal Arts, 2024–present

• Coordinator, French as a Second Language (FLS) Program – Laurentian University, July 2025–present

• Adjunct Professor – University of Ottawa, 2024–present

• Course Lecturer – Laurentian University, 2021–2024

• Part-time Professor – University of Ottawa, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Arts, 2014–2024

• Course Lecturer – Université de Moncton, Edmundston Campus, 2013–2014

• Teaching and Research Associate – University Institute of Technology (IUT), University of Rennes I, France, 2011–2013

• Postdoctoral Fellow in Media Communication – University of Ottawa, 2015–2016

• Research Associate – University of Ottawa, 2018–2024
  (Projects: HyFlex & Bimodal Delivery, 3M National Teaching Fellows, LINCDIRE, TPLANG21)

My research focuses on discourse analysis, interpretive semantics, and French as a second language pedagogy, with particular attention to the linguistic, cultural, and social impacts of emerging technologies, especially generative artificial intelligence. My current research program examines the role of sociotechnical artifacts and globalization in the construction and transformation of meaning, while highlighting the intersections between language, power, and cultural/linguistic diversity.

Theoretically, my work draws on interdisciplinary frameworks and integrates critical discourse analysis, narrative and rhetorical approaches, as well as multimodal and ethnographic methods. Methodologically, I combine qualitative and quantitative corpus analysis, interviews, surveys, and digital tools.

Highlights of my 2024–2025 scholarly activities include:

• Co-editing the collective volume Artificial Intelligence and Discourse (Palgrave, forthcoming 2026).

• Co-editing the Proceedings of the Symposium on AI and Postsecondary Education (eCampus Ontario, forthcoming December 2025).

• Submission of an article on AI and linguistic/cultural diversity (Revue du Nouvel-Ontario, 2025).

• Co-organizing several conferences, including AI in Higher Education and Digital Inclusion (ACFAS 2024) and AI and Postsecondary Education (Laurentian & Ottawa, 2024).

• Securing more than $28,000 in research and knowledge mobilization funding since 2024.

• Leading a project on the multimodal analysis of video modeling practices in  teaching, aimed at enhancing pedagogical effectiveness and supporting minority francophone communities

In the long term, my goal is to advance critical and inclusive research on emerging technologies, emphasizing knowledge co-construction, interdisciplinarity, and the preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity in minority francophone contexts.

• Knowledge Mobilization Fund – Laurentian University: Artificial Intelligence and Languages: Ecological Perspectives for Linguistic and Cultural Preservation ($7,000), 2025 – Principal Investigator.

• Francophone Research Fund – Laurentian University: Multimodal Analysis of Video Modeling Practices at CAVLFO ($7,000), 2024 – Principal Investigator.

• Research Start-up Fund – Laurentian University ($8,000), 2024 – Principal Investigator.

• Knowledge Mobilization Fund – eCampus Ontario: AI and Postsecondary Education Symposium ($5,000), 2024 – Principal Investigator.

• Knowledge Mobilization Fund – QuadC: AI and Postsecondary Education Symposium ($1,000), 2024 – Principal Investigator.

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• Germain-Rutherford, A., Karamifar, B., Bañados, E., Ernest, P., Heiser, S., Hopkins, J., Klinka, T., Rahimi, M., Robbins, J., Uličná, K. (2024). Impact of the pandemic on language education: Voices from across the world. Dans R. Hampel & U. Stickler (Eds.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching (pp. 48–65). Bloomsbury. Contribution : 30 %.