Safoura Nourbakhsh, Adjunct Lecturer
Safoura Nourbakhsh is a feminist scholar. Her research and interdisciplinary training travel through many fields and histories, from medieval Persian Sufi literature and histories to contemporary spiritual communities in Iran, women’s literature, gender and sexuality in the Middle East, and women’s rights discourse in Iran. Her Persian translation of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own is the first published translation of the book and has been printed six times since 2004.
Safoura’s brand of feminism is informed by her spiritual training and interest in Sufism. She believes Sufi teachings can expand our understanding of the self in relation to the unity of being and can help us see our connections and accept our differences. Safoura is the resident counselor of DC Sufi house and the managing editor of Sufi (a biannual journal of mystical philosophy and practice). She is currently on the faculty of women’s and gender studies at Georgetown University while working on her book on gender and sexuality in Persian Sufi traditions.