Major Interests: Kirby graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Religion. Her major academic interests include examining the ways religion is portrayed through the use of media — the ways religious groups construct themselves through media and the ways society depicts religion in film, in the news, and across the Internet. Her graduate work explores what impact the media’s recognition of religious groups have had on our global society. Within this larger framework, Kirby is also interested in the intersections between religion, race, and gender in the modern world. Kirby is now attending the Unviersity of Pennsylvia's Religious Studies PhD program.