2013-2014, African Studies Lecture Series Schedule


Fall 2014: Africa/Food

Dr. Judith Carney. History. UCLA.

Mr. Michael Twitty. Independent Scholar.

“Afroculinaria: Exploring the Foodways Legacy of Trans-Atlantic Slavery.”


Dr. Daphne Gallagher. Anthropology. University of Oregon.

“Shea Butter and Land Management in Precolonial Burkina Faso”


Dr. Larry Becker. Geography. Oregon State University.

“Land Sales on the Urban Fringe in Mali: Food and Equity in Jeopardy?”


Winter 2014: Africa/Democracy

Dr. James Long. Political Science. University of Washington.

“The Impact of Elections on Kenya’s Path to Democratization”


Ambassador Eric Benjaminson. Gabon Oregon Center. University of Oregon.

“A 21st Century African Transition: Gabon as a Case Study of the Unanticipated Frictions of Democratization.”


Dr. Lisa Gilman. Folklore. University of Oregon.

“Ethnic Pride or Tribalism: The Formation of Ethnic Associations in Multiparty Malawi.”



Spring 2014: Africa/Economies

Dr. Isaac Mbiti. Economics. Southern Methodist University.

“M-Pesa: Mobile Money and its Effects in Kenya.”


Dr. Stelios Michalopoulos. Economics. Brown University.

“On the Institutional Origins of African Development: National versus Ethnic-Specific Legacies.”


Dr. Melissa Graboyes. African Studies. University of Oregon.

“Economies of Blood in East Africa: From Witchcraft to Transfusions.”



AFR Special Event

Dr. David Leonard. Political Science. UC Berkeley.

“Civil Unrest and Land Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa.”




2012-2013, African Studies Lecture Series Schedule

Fall 2012: Africa and the World

Dr. China Scherz. Anthropology. Reed College.

“Having People, Having Heart: Charity, Sustainability, and Problems of Dependence in Central Uganda”


Dr. A.B. Assensoh. African American & Africa Diaspora Studies. Indiana University.

“A Comparative Study of African Decolonization Process and the US Civil Rights Movement”


Dr. Jamie Monson. History. Macalester College.

“China-Africa Development and the Other Cold War: Stories from the TAZARA Railway Project”


Winter 2013: Africa and Culture

Dr. Mokaya Bosire. Linguistics. University of Oregon.

“Swahili Nation: Language and Development in East Africa”


Dr. Candice Goucher. History. Washington State University.

“Iron Sails the Seas: Technology and Gender in the African Diaspora”


Dr. Amadou Fofana. French. Willamette University.

“The Representations of Women in the Films of Ousmane Sembene”


Spring 2013: Africa and the Environment

Dr. Joshua Linder. Anthropology. James Madison University.

“Bush Meat and Palm Oil: Eating Away African Biodiversity, Food Security, and Livelihoods”


Dr. Badege Bishaw. Forestry. Oregon State University.

“Integrated Watershed Management and Agroforestry in Gondar, Ethiopia”


Dr. Lindsay Braun. History. University of Oregon.

“Colonialism and Atomization: Individual Land Tenure in the Western Transkei, South Africa, 1865-1922” 


AFR Special Event

Stephanie Diakite

“The Evacuation of the Timbuktu Manuscripts and Their Life in Exile: The Work of T160K”




2011-2012, African Studies Lecture Series Schedule

Dr. Juli McGruder. Anthropology/ Occupational Therapy. University of Puget Sound.

“Interrogating the WHO’s Finding of a More Benign Schizophrenia in Poor Countries: Lessons from Zanzibar”


Dr. Lioba Moshi. Linguistics. University of Georgia.

“The Manifestations of Cultural and Gender Roles in some African Languages”


Dr. Joyce Millen. Anthropology. Willamette University.

“Philoblidarity: New Paradigms for a more Authentic African Independence”


Dr. Steven Rubert. History. Oregon State University.

“An Environmental History of Zimbabwe’s Highveld”


Dr. Jocelyn Mueller. Biology. Tufts University.

“Including Local Ecological Knowledge in Global Conservation Initiatives in Niger”


Dr. Stephen Dueppen. Anthropology. University of Oregon.

“Spiritual Leadership and Dispersed Power in Prehistoric Burkina Faso”


Dr. Jennifer Tappan. History. Portland State University.

“A Healthy Child Comes from a Healthy Mother: Malnutrition and Motherhood in Buganda, 1950-1974”


Dr. Isidore Lobnibe. Anthropology. Western Oregon University.

“The Immigrant Factor in Ghanaian Electoral Politics and the Politics of Belonging in Brong Ahafo”

The UO’s African Studies Lectures listed below are available for free viewing and download at the UO African Studies webpage here. The 2014-2015 series is organized by Daphne Gallagher, Kemi Balogun and Melissa Graboyes. (Photo courtesy of Meg Riggs.)


All talks are held from 12-1.15 pm in the Knight Library Browsing Room. Events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact africa @ uoregon.edu


2014-2015, African Studies Lecture Series Schedule


Fall 2014: Women and Gender

Dr. Beverly Stoeltje. Folklore. Indiana University. Wed, October 15, 2014

Dr. Jinny Prais. History/African Studies. Columbia University. Tues, November 4, 2014

Dr. Yvonne Braun. International Studies/Women and Gender Studies. UO. Mon, November 17, 2014


Winter 2015: Political Economy

Dr. Todd Pugatch. Economics. Oregon State University. Thurs, January 22, 2015

Dr. Kemi Balogun. Sociology/Women and Gender Studies. UO. Tues, February 17, 2015

Dr. Rebecca Hardin. Environmental Studies. University of Michigan. Thurs, March 5, 2015


Spring 2015: Health and Environment

Dr. Johanna Crane. Anthropology. University of Washington. Wed, April 8, 2015

Dr. Paul Jepson. Agriculture. Oregon State University. Wed, April 22, 2015

Dr. Kim Yi Dionne. Government. Smith College. Tues, May 12, 2015


AFR Special Event

Dr. Laura Fair. History. Michigan State University. Thurs, May 14, 2015

UO African Studies Lecture Series