Vajmeh Tabibi
PhD Candidate
Vajmeh Tabibi is a PhD candidate specializing in migration studies, with a research focus on oral history, migrant movements, memory, and the relationship between migrants and the state. Her scholarship explores how migrant narratives illuminate the lived realities of mobility, displacement, and state governance, paying particular attention to how memory and storytelling (of migration journeys) produce knowledge, contest official accounts of migration and state authority and serve as counter-narrative to challenge the dominant image of migrants. Through her work, Vajmeh foregrounds the forgotten and untold stories, voices and experiences of migrants, examining how they navigate borders, law and state and reinterpret structures of power, belonging, displacement and transformation.
Vajmeh’s MA research investigated how discourses of “risk,” “threat,” and “security” have been mobilized by policymakers, media, and security institutions to legitimize expansive surveillance measures and preventive policing strategies in the light of 9/11 events. A central thread of her scholarship explored how these discourses have contributed to the racialization of security practices, particularly in relation to minority communities in Canada.
With over 13 years of teaching experience, Vajmeh has taught a wide range of undergraduate courses in criminology, including criminological theory, abolitionist perspectives, and the intersections of criminal law and immigration (crimmigration). Her teaching is grounded in critical inquiry, inclusivity, and encouraging learners to interrogate systems of punishment, border control, and social inequality. She is particularly committed to fostering discussions around justice, decarceration, and the transformative possibilities of abolitionist frameworks.
In addition to academic teaching, Vajmeh has worked with Correctional Service Canada as Program Assistant, and with Big Brothers Big Sisters (Ottawa & Kingston) as Community Relations Manager and as Program Coordinator.
Supervisor
Dr. William Walters
Education
Master of Arts- Criminology- University of Ottawa
B.A. Honours in Criminology (Magna cum Laude) – University of Ottawa
B.A. Major Psychology –University of Ottawa
Awards
Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Carleton University – 2026-2027
Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Carleton University – 2025-2026
Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Carleton University – 2023-2024
Departmental Graduate Scholarship – Carleton University 2021-2025
Publication (Master Thesis)
Vajmeh Tabibi (2012) & Hannem. The marked of Radicalized Other: Afghan Canadian men Negotiating Stigma Post September 11th. In Stigma revisited: Negotiation, Resistance and the Implication of the Mark (editors). Bruckert, C. & Hannem, S. University of Ottawa Press.