Ramanpreet A. Bahra, M.A, PhD (A.B.D)

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Education

PhD (A.B.D) in Sociology 2017 – Present
York University (Toronto, Canada)
Dissertation: “Feeling Fat,” “Feeling Brown”: The Lived Experience of Fat South Asians in Ontario
Master of Arts in Sociology 2015-2016
Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology 2009-2013
Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)

Highlight of Qualifications

  • An interdisciplinary scholar bridging critical race, disability and fat scholarship with a commitment to social justice-based education.
  • Skilled in applying intersectional pedagogical approaches that foster critical thinking, research-creation, and engaged learning.
  • Designs and delivers inclusive, multi-platform course content that promotes active student engagement with both academic material and societal contexts.
  • Certified in research ethics through the TCPS 2: CORE-2022 (Tri-Council Policy Statement)

Research Areas of Interest

  • Substantive Areas: sociology of the body and embodiment; culture and identities; fat studies; critical disability studies; critical race and ethnic studies; affect studies; biopolitical theory; feminist and queer theory; social inequality; qualitative methodology (autoethnography, research-creation, interview, somatic movement)
  • Regional Interests: North America (specifically, Canada); South Asia (specifically, India)

Course Directorships

beginning with the most recent

  • SY218, Constructions of Deviance (Winter 2026) – Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
  • SY339, Disability/Abnormality (Fall 2025) – Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
  • SY218, Constructions of Deviance (Winter 2025) – Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
  • SY339, Disability/Abnormality (Winter 2025) – Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
  • HS/HR219, Critical Disabilities Studies (Fall 2024) – Health Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University (Brantford, Canada)
  • SY413, Sociology of Embodiment/Disability – Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
  • SY339, Disability/Abnormality (Fall 2023) – Sociology, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)

Speaking Engagements

Invited Keynotes

  • “Fat Femme Posthumanism: Reimagining Embodiment and Care”. Critical Femininities (August 15, 2025), Virtual. Click to see the program.

Invited Webinars

  • Bahra, R.A., and Rathinappillai, N. Cross-Pollinations’ of Sizeism within the Walls of Health/Care [Webinar, remote]. Cross-Pollinations: Canadian Health Humanities Virtual Rounds Series, League of Canadian Poets, Canadian Association for Health Humanities, and Health Arts Research Centre.
  • Bahra, R.A., and Ioannoni, K. Big Shoes to Fill: Awareness and Advocacy Skills for Navigating Medical Weight Bias [Webinar, remote]. Social Workers Week 2024, Fraser Health – Joint Health Authority Planning Committee.
  • Ioannoni, K., and Bahra, R.A. Sizing Up Gender-Based Violence Services: Identifying and Dismantling Weight-Based Discrimination [Webinar, remote]. The Learning Network (LN) at Western University. https://gbvlearningnetwork.ca/webinars/recorded-webinars/2023/webinar-2023-11.html
  • Giddings, C., Sasso, T. and Bahra, R.A. Challenging Traditional Pedagogy [Workshop] Hub for Teaching and Learning Excellence at University of Guelph. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9nhKlubduE

Invited Guest Lectures

beginning with the most recent

  • SOWK 427, Multiple Dimensions of Mental Health, Dr. Carly-Ann Franceschi, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary (remote)
    • Topic: Disability Justice Approaches (May 20, 2026)
  • ED/EDFE 3100, Teaching for Diverse & Equitable Classrooms in Ontario Manchari Paranthahan, Faculty of Education, York University (Toronto, Canada)
    • Title: Pedagogical Practices rooted in Em(BODY)ment, Care, and Community (Oct. 21, 2025)
  • SOWK 355, Research in Context, Dr. William Pelech & Carly-Ann Haney, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary (remote)
    • Title of Roundtable Lecture: Research for Social Justice Panel (Nov. 28, 2023)
  • SOCI 1010, Introduction to Sociology, Dr. Amber Gazso, Department of Sociology, York University (Toronto, Canada)
    • Topic: Bodies, Health, and Ageing (Mar. 25, 2023)
  • SOSC 2110, A Critical Study of Health and Society, Dagmara Woronko, Department of Social Science, York University (Toronto, Canada)
    • Topic: Eugenics and Scientific Racism (Mar. 8, 2023)
  • SY 389, Contemporary Social Theory, Dr. James Overboe, Sociology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
    • Topic: Affect, fat studies, the Body (Mar. 2, 2023)
  • SY 389, Contemporary Social Theory, Dr. James Overboe, Sociology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
    • Topic: Critiquing Happiness (Nov. 5, 2019)
  • SY 210, Social Inequality, Dr. Jasmin Zine, SY 389, Contemporary Social Theory, Dr. James Overboe, Sociology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
    • Topic: Dismantling ‘Deviance’: Disability & Sexuality (Oct. 21, 2019)
  • SY 389, Contemporary Social Theory, Dr. James Overboe, Sociology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada)
    • Topic: Racism, Sexism and Sizeism (Mar. 14, 2019)
  • FRAN*6200, Becomings: Emerging Directions and Critical Dialogues in ‘the Human’ or Rethinking the Human, Dr. Carla Rice, Family Relations & Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph (Guelph, Canada)
    • Topic: What is the Posthuman? (Nov. 14, 2017)

Editorial Leadership

Rodier, K., Bahra, R.A., and Ioannoni, K. (Eds.). (Winter 2025). Critical Fat Phenomenology [Special Issue]. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmakings, 2(2).
Bahra, R.A., Bessey, M., Edwards, M., Haney, C-A., Ioannoni, K., McFarland, J., Morgado, A., Robinson, M., Slothuber, V. (Spring 2025) Fat Worlds & Futures. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmakings, 2(2).
Bahra, R.A., Bessey, M., Edwards, M., Ioannoni, K., McFarland, J., Munro, L., Robinson, M., Slothuber, V. (2023). Inaugural Issue: Excess Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmakings, 1(1).
Taylor, A., Ioannoni, K., Bahra, R.A., Evans, C., Scriver, A. and Friedman, M. (Eds). (2023). Fat Studies in Canada: (Re)Mapping the Field. Inanna Publications and Education Inc.

Publications

Bahra, R.A. (Winter 2025). Encounters of Care in and outside of the Bodies-without-Organs. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking, 2(2), 22-48.
Bahra, R.A. and Cooper, C. (Winter 2025). Interview: Fat Body Work (2025) with Dr. Charlotte Cooper. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking, 2(2), 118-137. [non-peer-reviewed article]
Bahra, R.A. (Summer 2025). Fattening our Worldmakings: A Critical Fat-Posthumanist Assemblage of Care. Feral Feminisms, 14(2), 22-37.
Bahra, R.A., & Ioannoni, K. (2025). Reimagining our Worlds and Futures: Let’s Fatten it!. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking, 2(1), 1-16.
Haney, C. A., & Bahra, R.A. (2025). A Multisensory Assemblage of our Fatness: Weaving the Affective Entanglements of Fat Politic across Distance. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking, 2(1), 158-192.
Bahra, R.A and Ioannoni, K. (2023). An Excessively Fat Introduction. Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmakings, 1(1),1-24.
Bahra, R.A. (2023). The Affective Capacity of Fatness within Debility Politics. In A. Taylor, K. Ioannoni, R. A. Bahra, C. Evans, A. Scriver, and M. Friedman (Eds), Fat Studies in Canada: (Re)Mapping the Field (pp. 396-419). Inanna Publications and Education Inc.
Bahra, R. A., Evans, C., Ionannoni, K., Taylor, A. (2023). Introduction: Our Fat Liminal Grounds. In A. Taylor, K. Ioannoni, R. A. Bahra, C. Evans, A. Scriver, M. Friedman (Eds), Fat Studies in Canada: (Re)Mapping the Field (pp. xxi-xliv). Inanna Publications and Education Inc.
Bahra, R.A & Overboe, J. (2019). Working Towards the Affirmation of Fatness and Impairment. In M. Friedman, C. Rice and J. Rinaldi (Eds.), Thickening Fat: Fat Bodies, Intersectionality, and Social Justice (pp. 197-207). Routledge.
Bahra, R.A. (2018). “You can only be happy if you’re thin!” – Normalcy, happiness and the lacking body. Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society, 7(2), 193-202.
Bahra, R. 2016. “The Biopolitical Critique of the Notion of Being Human and an Affirmation of Lives.” Sociology Major Research Papers. 9 https://scholars.wlu.ca/soci_mrp/9

Conference Presentations

Rodier, K., Baker, C., & Bahra, R. A. (2025, October 12). Fattening queer joy: A workshop on embodiment, relational ethics, and worldmaking [Workshop presentation]. Mobilizing Queer Joy and Challenging Anti-2SLGBTQ+ Hate, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada.
Bahra, R. A. (2025, June). The Fat Brown Educator: Pedagogical stories of flesh-as-text [Conference presentation, Co-chair for panel: Fattening Methods]. Canadian Sociological Association at CONGRESS 2025, Toronto, Canada.
**co-chair for panel: Fattening Methods
Bahra, R. A. (2025, April). The Fat Educator & posthuman fat pedagogy [Conference presentation, Chair for panel: Fat Academics, Theories and Methodologies]. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, New Orleans, USA.
Bahra, R. A. (2024, June). Resisting sizeism/shapeism as body-without-organs: An intersectional praxis of fat-becomings [Conference presentation]. Canadian Sociological Association at CONGRESS 2024, Virtual.
Bahra, R. A., & Haney, C-A. (2024, March). A multisensory assemblage of our fatness: Weaving the affective entanglements of fat politic across distance [Conference presentation, Chair for panel]. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, Chicago, USA.
** Chair for Roundtable
Haney, C-A. & Bahra, R. A. (2024, March). A multisensory assemblage of our fatness: Weaving the affective entanglements of fat politic across distance [Experimental making & doing session, Hybrid]. philoSOPHIA: Society for Continental Feminism Conference, Calgary, Canada.
Bahra, R. A. (2023, August). Sizeism, shapeism and the body-without-organs [Conference presentation]. Irreverence: The Third Annual Critical Femininities Conference, Virtual.
Bahra, R. A., Ioannoni, K., & Friedman, M. (2023, March). Fat studies in Canada: (Re)mapping the field [Congress book launch, Inanna Publications]. Women’s and Gender Studies et Recherches Féministes (WGSRF) at CONGRESS 2023, Hybrid, Canada.
Bahra, R. A. (2023, April). Our excessively fat world-makings [Conference presentation, Chair for panel: Being and Living Fatly]. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, San Antonio, USA.
** Chair for Panel: Being and Living Fatly
Bahra, R. A., Ioannoni, K., Taylor, A., Friedman, M., & Evans, C. (2022, July). Live: Fat studies in Canada: (Re)mapping the field (2023) [Round table panel]. Fat Studies New Zealand Conference, Virtual.  
Simpson, A., Khandpur, G., & Bahra, R. A. (2023, July). Live: Covid-19 & fatness: Fishbowl discussion [Round table panel]. Fat Studies New Zealand Conference, Virtual.
Bahra, R. A., Ioannoni, K., Taylor, A., Friedman, M., & Evans, C. (2022, April). Live: Fat studies in Canada: (Re)mapping the field (2023) [Round table panel]. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, Virtual.
Bahra, R. A. (2020, June). Personhood and fat as debility. Fat Studies New Zealand Conference, Virtual. Video for Presentation
Bahra, R. A. (2019, April). Fat affect and the “body-without-organs”. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, Washington, USA.
** Chair for Panel: Fat Affect
Bahra, R. A., & Underhill, A. (2018, May). Queering the human: The Guelph Seminar [Workshop presentation]. Sexuality Studies Association at CONGRESS 2018, University of Regina, Regina, Canada.
Bahra, R. A. (2018, March). Becoming-fat: Fatness as the impersonal. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, Indiana, USA.
** Chair for Panel: Living and Being Fat
Bahra, R. A. (2017, April). Living outside the box of normalcy as a fat racialized body. Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association: Fat Studies Conference, San Diego, USA.
Bahra, R. A. (2017, March). The coda and discipline of humanism [Panel: The Politics of Life—Rethinking Resistance in the Biopolitical Economy]. Bio-Techne Conference, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada.
Bahra, R. A. (2017, March). The biopolitical genres of humanism. ENGAGE 2017: Annual Sociology & Anthropology Graduate Student Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.

Fellowships & Graduate Student Opportunities

  • Junior Fellow at Centre for Fat Liberation & Scholarship, 2021- 2022
  • Course Co-Developer and Instructor for FRAN*6200 (University of Guelph), Fall 2017

Media Features

Affiliations

  • Co-Chair of the Fat Studies Research Cluster in association with the Canadian Sociological Association, Nov. 2024 -Present
  • Board Member for the Critical Femininities Conference in association with the Centre for Feminist Research (York University), Dec. 2023 – Present
  • Co-Manager-in-Chief for Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking, May 2022 – Present
  • Editorial Board Member for Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking, May 2022 – Present
  • General Member of Popular Culture Association, 2017 – Present
  • General Member of Southern Sociological Association, 2019 – 2023
  • General Member for New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis, Sept. 2019 – 2023
  • Media Officer for New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis, Sept. 2019 – Jan. 2020
  • Editorial Board Member for Inaugural Issue of New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis, Sept. 2019 – Jan. 2020

Awards

  • Equity, Diversity, Indigeneity and Inclusion Fund, Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) for Excessive Bodies, $2,000, Winter 2026
  • Equity, Diversity, Indigeneity and Inclusion Fund, Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) for Critical Femininities Annual Conference, $2,000, Summer 2025
  • York University Graduate Scholarship, 2017 – 2023
  • Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate Scholarship, 2015 – 2016
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Excessive Bodies Journal
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