Tabassum Fahim Ruby Ph.D. (she/her)
- Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies
- 733 Wayne Hall
- 610-436-2584
Dr. Tabassum F. Ruby obtained a Ph.D. in Women's Studies (now Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies) from York University (Toronto, Canada) in 2010. She also earned graduate and undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Women's Studies. Prior to joining West Chester in 2016, Dr. Ruby held a postdoctoral faculty position in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at Western Michigan University, and an instructor position in the Departments of American Culture Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Bowling Green State University.
Dr. Ruby's research centers on Islam and gender discourses, and on modernity and secularism. In 2018, Dr. Ruby was awarded Provost Research Grant (PRG) for her new book project: “Religion and Globalization: The Silent Transformations in the Lives of Pakistani Women.” She was also selected as a Spotlight on Faculty Research Recipient. Her first book, Muslim Women's Rights: Contesting Liberal-Secular Sensibilities in Canada, examines the ways liberal-secular normative values have shaped and informed the question of Muslim women's rights.
Go to Muslim Women's Rights Podcast
Selected Publications
Books
Articles (peer-reviewed)
- “Discourses of Shari‘a Law and Muslim Women: A Critical Reflection on Sharia in Canada” (documentary). Feminist Formations, 28, no. 3 (2016): 121-147.
- “The Question of Muslim Women’s Rights and the Ontario Shari‘ah Tribunals: Examining Liberal Claims.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 34, no. 2 (2013): 134–154.
- “Muslim Women and the Ontario Shari‘ah Tribunals: Discourses of Race and Imperial Hegemony in the Name of Gender Equality.” Women’s Studies International Forum, 38, May–June (2013): 32–42.
- “Spirituality of Religion, Secularism, and the Academy: Reflections on the ‘Muslim Woman’s Question’.” Canadian Woman Studies, 29, no. 1-2 (2011): 171–175.
- “Listening to the Voices of Hijab.” Women’s Studies International Forum, 29, no. 1 (2006): 54–66.
Chapters in Edited Volumes
- Ruby, F. Tabassum & Banno Abida. “Drone Strikes in Pakistan: Effects and Implications of Collateral Damage.” Global Responses to 9/11 and Discourses of Terrorism, ed. Khani Begum. Palgrave (submitted).
- “Discourses of Veiling and the Precarity of Choice: Representations in the Post-9/11 US.” The Routledge International Handbook of Veils and Veiling Practices, eds. Anna-Mari Almila and David Inglis. Routledge (2018), 44-52.
- “Who Am I and Where Do I Belong? Immigrant Muslim Women and Sites of Struggle in Crafting and Negotiating Identities in Canada.” Home/Bodies: Geographies of Self, Place, and Space, ed. Wendy Schissel. University of Calgary Press (2006), 27–45.
Courses Offered
- Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
- Feminist Theory
- Women of the Global South
- Islam, Gender, and the Media
- Feminist Research Methodologies
- Transnational Feminisms
- Globalization and the Ethics of Sustainability
Areas Of Interest
- Islam, Gender, Modernity, and Secularism
- Transnational Feminisms
- Postcolonial and Critical Race Studies
- Feminist Theory
- Feminist Methodologies
- Globalization