Sara vakili Ph.d. (she/her)

Adjunct Professor of Women's & Gender Studies

image of sara - feminine person with short dark hair, dark lipstick, hanging earings, a white sleeveless blouse with an architectural cement background

Sara obtained her Ph.D. in Queer Studies from Tübingen University (Germany) in 2021. She also earned graduate and undergraduate degrees in American Studies and Art. Prior to joining West Chester, Sara held a research fellow position in the Department of English in Tübingen University and was twice granted the scholarship from the Global South Studies for research at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico City).   

Her areas of focus are queer desire and queer becoming in spiritual practices. Her dissertation analyzes Rumi’s mysticism as a form of queer desire and how this eastern tradition resonates with the western counterpart St. Sebastian.

Courses taught

  • Derek Jarman: A Queer Saint
  • Diasporic Imaginaries: Detaching One’s Identity  
  • (Queer) Bodies on Screen
  • Bodies in Pain
  • Queer Films
  • Queer Culture, Art and Media 

areas of interest

Queer Phenomenology, Women’s and Queer’s art, 19th and 20th century gender and sexuality, Queer and spiritual practices, Global south and gender studies