Biography
Ella Jean Fernandez is an incoming M.A. student in Religion at Columbia University. Prior to Columbia, Ella Jean graduated from Hollins University with a B.A. in Religious Studies and Philosophy. Her undergraduate thesis, “Meiji and Myth: The Emperor, Totemic Principles, and Unity,” examined how the formation of a modern Japanese identity relied on totemic structures and mythic narratives. At Columbia, Ella Jean hopes to deepen her understanding of the relationship between religion and state as well as explore Shinto shrine activity during the late Meiji era.