Carla Cribari-Assali

Carla Cribari-Assali is a native German speaker from Heidelberg who first joined the RC faculty in 2019. With her Lebanese-German background and advanced degrees from Germany and Scotland, she brings a uniquely international perspective to our students.  Carla is an experienced teacher who has taught German, as well as Anthropology and English, in various academic and non-academic contexts.

With her training as a cultural anthropologist, Carla has made an outstanding contribution to cross-cultural studies and the Sociology of Childhood. For her doctoral degree, Carla conducted ethnographic research on the well-being of children in Germany and of Tibetan refugees in India. She also did field research with the Bena tribe in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Her interest in cross-cultural comparison and multiculturalism shape her classes, where she teaches humanities, cultural anthropology, as well as language in the context of culture, bringing it alive and making the learning experience more fun. 

Carla has also been active in theater. For over ten years, she directed music theater productions in Heidelberg that often dealt with socially relevant issues, such as human trafficking and where she taught acting to adults, youth and children. As a cultural anthropologist, Carla conducted research in form of ethnographic documentary. She has incorporated her passion for filmmaking and photography into her classes, where creative expression is used as part of the learning and studying process. In her free time Carla likes to garden and farm at White Lotus Farms.