Since the 1970s, scholars have raised awareness about the gender biases of archival sources, especially when it comes to colonial, postcolonial, national or diplomatic archives. They have shown that women’s invisibility did not mean an absence of traces, and advocated innovative methodologies and the search for unusual sources to reconstruct women’s lost voices in African history.

Our guest speakers work on African women's voices in various historical, geographical and more importantly political contexts, and with many different sources (public archives, literature, autobiographies...). They will share their insights on how to retrieve, create or re-interpret sources about women’s power and how to find new conceptual tools to complicate political narratives

Speakers: Anna Adima (Doctoral researcher, University of York), Marciana Nafula Were (Lecturer, Tom Mboya University/Stellenbosch University) & Immanuel Harisch (Doctoral researcher, Department of African Studies, University of Vienna).

The discussion will be informal (short presentation of archives/sources; Q&A). This working group doesn’t mean you have to work: just come join us to listen and/or contribute to a friendly discussion where students, researchers and professors are all welcome!

Registration to access the online meeting here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/beyond-silences-retrieving-womens-voices-in-african-political-history-tickets-132949793411