Karen Ruffle holds a joint appointment in history of religions and women’s and gender studies in the Department of Historical Studies at UTM, and teaches graduate courses in the Department and Centre for the Study of Religion. Ruffle obtained her B.A. in Religion from Middlebury College and her M.A. and PhD in Religious Studies with a specialization in Islamic studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her research and teaching interests focus on various aspects of Islam, including Muslim devotional texts, ritual practice, and gendered constructions of holiness in Shi‘ism. She has conducted field research in India,Pakistan, Iran, and Syria.
Areas of Research
Shi`ism, gender and sainthood, Islam and sexuality
Opportunities for Student Supervision/Areas of Interest
• Shi`ism
• Islam and gender
• Religion and sexuality
• South Asia, Iran
• Religious ethnography
• Sainthood
Selected Publications
Gender, Sainthood, and Everyday Practice in South Asian Shiʿism. Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks Series. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, forthcoming July 2011.
“Muharram.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies. Edited by Tamara Sonn. New York: Oxford University Press, in press (January 2011).
“Mutʿa.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies. Edited by Tamara Sonn. New York: Oxford University Press, in press (January 2011).
“May Fatimah Gather Our Tears: The Mystical and Intercessory Powers of Fatimah al-Zahra in Indo-Persian Shiʿi Devotional Literature and Performance.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 30:3, in press (November 2010).
“Who Could Marry at a Time Like This? Debating the Mehndi ki Majlis in Hyderabad.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 29:3 (November 2009): 502-514.
Contact Information
Assistant Professor
Department of Historical Studies (UTM)
Department and Centre for the Study of Religion (UTSG)
BA (Middlebury College), M.A. and PhD (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill)
Jackman Humanities Building, Room 329
170 St. George Street
Toronto, ON M5R 2M8
Tel: 416-978-6217
Fax: 416-978-1610
Email: karen.ruffle@utoronto.ca