She Speaks: Academic Muslimahs

Going on an indefinite hiatus! Thank you so much for listening! All episodes available at: https://www.academicmuslimah.com/

Dr. Elora Shehabuddin is Professor of Transnational Asian Studies and Core Faculty in the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. She is the author of Sisters in the Mirror: A History of Muslim Women and the Global Politics of Feminism. Today we talk about the stories of feminist struggles that provide a more nuanced picture, the conversation between Western feminists and Global South or Transnational feminists, and why it is so hard to have the more difficult conversations needed within feminist struggles. #Feminism #GlobalSouth #Intersectionality 

Linda Hyökki is a PhD Candidate in Civilization Studies at Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. In this episode, we talk about religious righteousness, whiteness, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment in Finland, and so much more. Hyökki PhD thesis and broader research interest focus on Islamophobia and convert Muslims. She has done fieldwork interviews with converts from Finland, her native country, exploring questions of whiteness, Finnishness, identity and recognition. She is currently the  coordinator of anti-Muslim racism working group at the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism. Along with some other consultancy works she is also the general secretary of European Forum of Muslim Women.  Currently, she lives with her Bosnian husband in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

An awesome interview with Sara Abdalla who is making art accessible and relatable to those who are traditionally excluded from the art world. We also talk about why immigrant parents might steer their kids away from artistic careers, why that is harmful, and how art can portray the depth of all our lives. Sara Abdalla Director of design brand Cape Cairo Collective and Founder of Creative Visionaries studio. She is a multidisciplinary Scottish Egyptian Mural Artist, Maker, Activist and Teacher with hand painting, relief printing, photography, type and collage to communicate the narrative. She will be pursuing her PHD at the University of Middlesex and will investigate if Murals make the world a better place?

Aminah Beverly McCloud Al Deen is a Professor Emeritus  of Religious Studies and Director of Islamic World Studies program at DePaul University. She is one of the most eminent scholars on Islam in America and her areas of expertise include Islam in America, Muslim women, Islamic studies and the history, geography, politics, religion and philosophy of Islam. We talk about Islam in America, anti-Black racism within Muslim American communities, about Critical Talk, and a whole lot more. 

This episode features Dr. Sana Rizvi who is a Senior lecturer in Education and Early Childhood studies at Liverpool John Moores University. She talks about her fresh off the press book, Undoing Whiteness in Disability Studies: The Special Education System and British South Asian Mothers that just came out with Palgrave Macmillan. In this podcast, Sana explores the intersections of motherhood, Muslim cultures, disability, and education. You can find the transcript for this episode at https://www.academicmuslimah.com/ep39-transcript  

Dr. Saima Ansari recently completed her PhD from University of Salford in UK on Identity, religion, and clothing - the lives of British Muslim women. In this episode she talks to us about how hijab is negotiated both within non-Muslim communities and within Muslim communities, about Islamic feminism, and the #MeToo movement, among many other things.

This episode features an excellent conversation on the academic job market and alt-ac jobs with Dr. Fatemeh Mardi. Dr. Mardi has her bachelors and masters from Tehran, Iran, and her PhD in instructional technology from University of Missouri St. Louis, MO. She is currently working with Office of eLearning at University of Missouri System as an Instructional Designer. Among other things, Dr. Mardi talks about the toll on our mental and physical health through all the cycles of applying for academic jobs, and the amount of work required to stay competitive in an environment of scarce jobs.

This episode features Dr. Julie Prior, who has a PhD in early modern and eighteenth-century drama from the University of Toronto. She is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Her research explores adaptations of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and is concerned with illuminating production history and intertextual resonances that are activated by performance. Here she talks about her journey to Islam, marriage, divorce, abuse, and Shakespeare. 

This episode is in Urdu & English. This conversation is prompted by the recent events in Pakistan, including the Noor Muqaddam case, Quratulain Baloch case, and the victim from Mohra village (name not yet released). We also talk about how patriarchy functions to attempt to shame women instead of bringing the perpetrator to justice, and why women don’t speak up about their experiences. Last, but not least, we talk about the ways some women are shielded by their privilege at the expense of other more vulnerably situated women.

how u doin?

This episode features Dr. Maha Nasaar is an Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. Today, we talk a little about history of Falestine or Palestine, the ongoing nakba or catastrophe, anti-Semitism as it relates to Palestinian liberation movements, Hamas, and issues of human rights. Dr. Nassar specializes in Arab cultural and intellectual history with a focus on Palestinians. Her book, which received a 2018 Palestine Book Award, is titled Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World. #Palestine #Israel #Nakba #Hamas #FreePalestine 

This episode features me, Saba Fatima! In this episode, I talk with Shannon Strom about being a woman of color in academia, being a STEM student in a patriarchal environment, performing 'professional' forms of femininity, how we have to over-perform just to clear the bar, what is standpoint theory & intersectionality, and about the future of gender relations and academia. You can learn more about me at: https://sites.google.com/view/sabafatimaphd

This episode features Dr. Banafsheh Madaninejad. Dr. Madaninejad is an anti-racism and gender educator and equity strategist. She has founded Sisters in Leadership Training (https://www.sistersinleadershiptraining.com) and I-AMM (https://i-amm.org/) an anti-racist organization dedicated to Interconnecting Arabs, Muslims and Middle Easterners. Here, she talks about her experience of coming to the US for college, coding for NASA, switching fields from STEM to humanities, leaving academia, and of course about her podcasts The Defining Moment & Red Peace Machine (https://i-amm.org/tdm-podcast). Last but not least, we turn to her organization I-AMM and the work it does.

This episode features Dr. Amani Hassani who is the 2020 Sociological Review Fellow at Keele University in England. She talks about facing harsh scrutiny for her public scholarship, and about fighting against Islamophobia and racism against Muslims in Denmark. Check out her latest contribution to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The "European Islamophobia Report 2020" will come out soon at www.islamophobiaeurope.com The 2019 report can be found at https://www.islamophobiaeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2019eir-DENMARK.pdf #Islamophobia #Denmark #Europe #racism #Québec

Dr. Elora Halim Chowdhury is a Professor in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and the Director of Human Rights Program at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her most recent book is an edited collection with Dr. Esha Niyogi De, titled South Asian Filmscapes: Transregional Encounters (2020). Dr. Chowdhury talks about her journey into academia, the Bangladeshi Liberation War, its impact on national identity, and about how foreign NGOs create boundaries of savior and poor clients. Finally, we talk about her and Dr. De’s latest book about South Asian cinema and its influence in envisioning healing and reconciliation.

Dr. Shehnaz Haqqani is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Mercer University and specializes in Islam, with a focus on gender and sexuality. She earned her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the co-founder of Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America: FITNA and the force behind the YouTube channel called What the Patriarchy?! FITNA - Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/feministfitna What the Patriarchy?!: https://www.youtube.com/c/WhatthePatriarchy/videos Freedom from the Forbidden Blog: https://orbala.net/ #Feminism #Islam #IslamicFeminism #Pashtun #women

This week, we talk to Aalih Hussein, who is a 2nd year PhD student in Social Work at a Joint Doctoral Program between North Carolina University Greensboro and North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. She talks about her experiences with racism, Islamophobia, imposter syndrome, and western feminism. Her research is focused on the mental wellbeing of Millennial Muslim American women. You can learn more about Aalih at https://aahussein99.wixsite.com/website/ #Islamophobia #WellBeing #MentalHealthMatters #SelfCare #Racism #ImposterSyndrome

In this episode, we feature Dr. Shabana Mir, Associate Professor of Anthropology and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at American Islamic College in Chicago. We talk about the value of an Islamic liberal arts education and of all-women’s education. She provides a brief synopsis on her book, Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity. Dr. Mir explains the sorts of scrutiny Muslim American women face on campuses. Lastly, she touches upon the impact of COVID on religious spaces and tells us about her latest project on Muslim women community organizers. Muslim American Women on Campus (2014): https://uncpress.org/book/9781469629964/muslim-american-women-on-campus/ Hind Makki’s Side Entrance project: https://sideentrance.tumblr.com/

This episode features Dr. Sanae Elmoudden, an Associate Professor in the Rhetoric, Communication and Theatre Department at St. John's University, NYC. She talks about mental health, being a caretaker in addition to being an academic and an advocate, the alienating stigma around mental illness, role of religion, and the role of academia in raising awareness around mental health issues. Check out Dr. Elmoudden's page: https://www.facebook.com/appreciatingbraindiversity