Mittwoch, 4. Juli 2018 - 18:00
In the Pursuit of Freedom: Feminist intellectuals in African contexts
Amina Mama
If regimes of power and oppression are sustained by regimes of knowledge, then the production of radical knowledge and political consciousness is fundamental to the pursuit of freedom. Feminism in the South is discussed as an intellectual movement that has taken radical knowledge work seriously since the 19th century liberal and socialist discourses on the liberation of women. Women's study groups, gender training programes, university teaching in gender and women's studies, media and information work, research and publications have all contributed to the growth of feminist political consciousness and new levels of expertise to women's movements all over the South. This lecture reflects on the contribution of feminist scholars pursuing the struggle for women's rights and freedom in African contexts.
AMINA MAMA is Professor and Director of Women and Gender Studies, University of California, Davis. She is a widely published scholar-activist, and the founding Editor of Feminist Africa, published by the African Gender Institute in Cape Town. She is currently Director of the Feminist Research Institute at UC Davis. Her life-work focuses on strengthening activism in African contexts. Amina's research interests include culture and subjectivity, politics and policy, women's movements and militarism. From 1999-2009, Amina led the establishment of the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She co-produced "The Witches of Gambaga" with Ghanaian director Yaba Badoe.
This lecture is part of the Cornelia Goethe Colloquium in 2018.