Karen Ruddy
Sessional Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
Coordinator, Fundamentals of Learning
Email: kruddy@yorku.ca
Dr. Karen Ruddy joined the Writing and Humanities departments in 2020 as a Sessional Assistant Professor. She holds a Ph.D. in Social & Political Thought from York University, with a focus on transnational feminist and decolonizing literacies and pedagogies. An interdisciplinary scholar and educator, Karen has over 20 years of experience teaching across the disciplines in first-year general education courses and working as a writing instructor at York and community-based adult literacy programs.
Working within and across the humanities, writing studies and political studies, Karen is engaged in two research projects that further develop her doctoral work, Decolonizing Literacies: Transnational Feminism, Legacies of Coloniality and Pegagogies of Transformation (2016). One project explores how feminist education in general and literacy education in particular have become central pillars of neoliberal development and post-war reconstruction efforts. A second research project draws from traditions of anti-colonial (Friere), Indigenous (Simpson), and postcolonial (Spivak) thought to re-imagine literacy as decolonial and freedom-enhancing feminist political practice.
Dr. Karen Ruddy joined the Writing and Humanities departments in 2020 as a Sessional Assistant Professor. She holds a Ph.D. in Social & Political Thought from York University, with a focus on transnational feminist and decolonizing literacies and pedagogies. An interdisciplinary scholar and educator, Karen has over 20 years of experience teaching across the disciplines in first-year general education courses and working as a writing instructor at York and community-based adult literacy programs.
Working within and across the humanities and political studies, Karen is engaged in two research projects that further develop her doctoral work, Decolonizing Literacies: Transnational Feminism, Legacies of Coloniality and Pegagogies of Transformation (2016). One project explores how feminist education in general and literacy education in particular have become central pillars of neoliberal development and post-war reconstruction efforts. A second research project draws from traditions of anti-colonial (Friere), Indigenous, and postcolonial (Spivak) thought to re-imagine literacy as decolonial and freedom-enhancing feminist political practice.
She currently serves as the Coordinator of the Fundamentals of Learning program, an academic recovery program that supports LA&PS undergraduate students as they relaunch their studies after academic or personal setbacks. Her pedagogical scholarship focuses on the affective and embodied dimensions of writing pedagogy, and explores how student retention and persistence can be enhanced by pedagogies that embrace the affective experience of failure in the teaching and learning encounter.
Degrees
Ph.D. Social and Political Thought, York UniversityM.A. Social and Political Thought, York University
B.A. Political Studies, Queen's University
Research Interests
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2024 | AP/FND1000 3.0 | M | Fundamentals of Learning | LECT |
| Winter 2024 | AP/FND1000 3.0 | M | Fundamentals of Learning | TUTR |
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/HUMA1250 6.0 | A | Diaspora Communities and Global Cultures | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/HUMA1250 6.0 | A | Diaspora Communities and Global Cultures | TUTR |
Dr. Karen Ruddy joined the Writing and Humanities departments in 2020 as a Sessional Assistant Professor. She holds a Ph.D. in Social & Political Thought from York University, with a focus on transnational feminist and decolonizing literacies and pedagogies. An interdisciplinary scholar and educator, Karen has over 20 years of experience teaching across the disciplines in first-year general education courses and working as a writing instructor at York and community-based adult literacy programs.
Working within and across the humanities, writing studies and political studies, Karen is engaged in two research projects that further develop her doctoral work, Decolonizing Literacies: Transnational Feminism, Legacies of Coloniality and Pegagogies of Transformation (2016). One project explores how feminist education in general and literacy education in particular have become central pillars of neoliberal development and post-war reconstruction efforts. A second research project draws from traditions of anti-colonial (Friere), Indigenous (Simpson), and postcolonial (Spivak) thought to re-imagine literacy as decolonial and freedom-enhancing feminist political practice.
Dr. Karen Ruddy joined the Writing and Humanities departments in 2020 as a Sessional Assistant Professor. She holds a Ph.D. in Social & Political Thought from York University, with a focus on transnational feminist and decolonizing literacies and pedagogies. An interdisciplinary scholar and educator, Karen has over 20 years of experience teaching across the disciplines in first-year general education courses and working as a writing instructor at York and community-based adult literacy programs.
Working within and across the humanities and political studies, Karen is engaged in two research projects that further develop her doctoral work, Decolonizing Literacies: Transnational Feminism, Legacies of Coloniality and Pegagogies of Transformation (2016). One project explores how feminist education in general and literacy education in particular have become central pillars of neoliberal development and post-war reconstruction efforts. A second research project draws from traditions of anti-colonial (Friere), Indigenous, and postcolonial (Spivak) thought to re-imagine literacy as decolonial and freedom-enhancing feminist political practice.
She currently serves as the Coordinator of the Fundamentals of Learning program, an academic recovery program that supports LA&PS undergraduate students as they relaunch their studies after academic or personal setbacks. Her pedagogical scholarship focuses on the affective and embodied dimensions of writing pedagogy, and explores how student retention and persistence can be enhanced by pedagogies that embrace the affective experience of failure in the teaching and learning encounter.
Degrees
Ph.D. Social and Political Thought, York UniversityM.A. Social and Political Thought, York University
B.A. Political Studies, Queen's University
Research Interests
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2024 | AP/FND1000 3.0 | M | Fundamentals of Learning | LECT |
| Winter 2024 | AP/FND1000 3.0 | M | Fundamentals of Learning | TUTR |
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/HUMA1250 6.0 | A | Diaspora Communities and Global Cultures | LECT |
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/HUMA1250 6.0 | A | Diaspora Communities and Global Cultures | TUTR |
