African Women’s Rights and Resilience

During the 2013-14 academic year, Barnard was proud to host Nobel Laureate and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee as its inaugural Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice and a Transnational Fellow at the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Students, faculty and visitors benefited from her presence on campus and attending her classes and lectures to hear her perspectives on social justice and human rights. One of the most exciting components of Gbowee’s residency was an innovative pedagogical collaboration between Gbowee and Tina Campt, Professor of Africana and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Co-Director of BCRW. Gbowee and Campt developed a distinctive adaptation of the WGSS Feminist Theory Colloquium that engaged Gbowee’s extensive network of activists, including Gloria Steinem and Abigail Disney. In March 2014, BCRW co-sponsored the African Women’s Rights and Resilience Symposium in celebration of International Women’s Day, which explored the situation of women in the Global South against the backdrop of women’s accomplishments around the world.

See the African Women’s Rights and Resilience website for further information on this project.