A revolution of the mind: a tribute to Rula Quawas (1960–2017)

Abstract

Professor Rula Quawas was a Jordanian scholar, activist, and vocal feminist. After she received her PhD in American Literature and Feminist Theory from the University of North Texas in 1995, she returned to Amman and joined the faculty at the University of Jordan. Rula spent the next two decades working tirelessly to mentor, educate, and inspire her undergraduate and graduate students, urging them to recognise their own intrinsic value and worth – acknowledging that ‘enabling young women to speak is part of the feminist movement’. Indeed, Rula considered her classroom a site of feminist resistance; she was the first to introduce feminist courses at the University of Jordan, and she started its Women’s Studies Centre in 2006. Rula supported her students and had an unwavering commitment to what she described as some of her most important work: cultivating a revolution of the mind. In my 2016 interview with her, Rula observed that ‘we need a revolution of the mind, and this is what I do. I teach [my students] how to think critically and not be afraid to speak their minds, and to feel enoughness’. The idea of critical thinking and of ‘being enough’ featured prominently in Rula’s life and work. In 2016, she published a collection of essays written by young Jordanian women entitled The Voice of Being Enough: Young Jordanian Women Break Through Without Breaking Down. In this text, Rula connected personal change with societal change. She challenged her students and readers to see their own intrinsic value, to pursue their aspirations, and to become advocates for gender and social justice in their own communities. Such a revolution is not without opposition or controversy. The University of Jordan removed her from her post as dean after students in her 2012 Feminist Theory class made a video rebuking the rampant sexual harassment they faced on campus (Jadaliyya Reports 2012). In the video, young women hold up signs with the phrases they hear directed their way: ‘Nice humps’, ‘Do you want a ride?’, ‘Can I take you home?’ (Amami 2012). The video sparked controversy beyond the campus. Conservatives disparaged Rula for allowing, even encouraging, young women to publicly discuss such a vulgar topic, while administrators and some faculty members criticised her for impugning the reputation of the university. Rula, however, refused to feel shame for inspiring her students to mobilise against harassment, insisting that Arab women are more than their bodies. After her passing in 2017, I reached out to a few of her students, and they emphasised how Rula made them feel special, capable, and confident. Indeed, sitting across from her,