Women & Development in Africa

Catalog description

Development studies increasingly focus on questions of gender and family as drivers and receivers of development. Improving the quality of life of African women and families hinges on first understanding who they are and why and how they live as they do. In this course we explore a key question: How are women, gender and sexuality central to development in Sub-Saharan Africa? The course answers this question by providing a comprehensive overview of the social, political, economic, regional and global realities that shape daily lives of women in Sub-Saharan Africa. We examine diverse topics ranging from family planning and social entrepreneurship to beauty politics and women's role in conflict. A variety of case studies and authors from across the continent are consulted, including examples from Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, and Nigeria. The course is interdisciplinary in approach, with course materials drawn from public health, history, education, psychology, political science, environmental studies, and literature. The sources we use are diverse, including academic articles, monographs, novels, short stories, poetry, art, and film. This course is required for students who wish to apply for the Newcomb College Institute's summer program in Kenya.