Rethinking Gender in African Universities

This lecture is part of the Virginia C. Gildersleeve lecture series Race, Gender, Community & Rights: Celebrating 15 Years of Africana Studies at Barnard.

Amina Mama is Barbara Lee Distinguished Professor at Mills College. Before founding the first Gender Studies Program in Africa at the University of Cape Town, Professor Mama taught social studies and gender studies at a number of European and International Institutions. She is Chair of Gender Studies and Director of the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. However, she has also worked outside the academic mainstream as a researcher and consultant to various international bodies, and with an array of non-governmental and women’s organizations. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Psychology from the University of London. Her current research interests center around bringing gender analysis to bear on subjectivity, social relations and politics. Her major research projects have addressed women in government and politics in a variety of African contexts, militarism, women’s organizations and movements, race and subjectivity.