Amina mom

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Amina Mama (2019)

Amina Mama (born September 19, 1958 ) is a Nigerian - British psychologist and feminist . Her main topics are post-colonialism , militarism and gender issues. She is considered to be one of the world's most important scientists in the field of African feminism . She has lived in Africa, Europe and North America and has built relationships among feminist intellectuals worldwide.

Youth and Studies

Mama was born in 1958 to a Nigerian and a British teacher in northern Nigeria and grew up in Kaduna , an ethnically and religiously heterogeneous city. Mama is the oldest of three siblings.

In 1960 Nigeria became independent. In the following years there was a power struggle in the north of the multi-ethnic state between the Christian Igbo and the Muslim Hausa and Fulani . After a military coup by Igbo officers and a subsequent counter-coup, there was a pogrom on the Igbo in 1966 with tens of thousands dead, which ultimately led to the Biafra War (1967-1970). Because of this riot, Mama left Nigeria in 1966 and grew up in Great Britain.

After finishing school, Mama studied psychology at the University of St. Andrews , Scotland (1980 Bachelor of Science). Mom then moved to London to continue her studies. There she took part in a group founded by black women in 1973, the Brixton Black Women's Group (BBWG). In London, Mama studied social psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London (1981 Master of Science). In 1987 she completed her PhD in organizational psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London (subject: “Race and Subjectivity: A Study of Black Women”). In 1989, Mama published her first book, The Hidden Struggle . It is the first investigation into violence against British black women.

Career

After her doctorate, Mama worked at various academic institutions in the Netherlands (1989–1991 Institute of Social Studies in The Hague , Netherlands ) and Great Britain (1992–1994 Development and Project Planning Center at the University of Bradford, 1998 St. Anthony's College, Oxford, as Visiting Associate Member) and lived in Nigeria for some time.

In 1999 she was appointed to the newly established Chair of Gender Studies at the historically white University of Cape Town in Cape Town , South Africa . She built up the university's African Gender Institute (AGI), initiated a graduate program in gender studies, and directed a series of Africa-wide research. In 2002 she founded the scientific online journal Feminist Africa , which she still co-publishes to this day. Mama headed the AGI until 2009.

During her time in South Africa, she was visiting professor in the USA and Europe on various occasions : in 2002 for six months at Wellesley College and in 2003/2004 on the Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. In 2007 Mama was appointed to the newly established Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair at Mills College in Oakland , California , USA (2007–2009). The endowed chair was established to recognize Congresswoman Barbara Lee's commitment to human rights and social justice. Mama has been Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at the University of California, Davis since 2009 .

In 2010 she produced the film The Witches of Gambaga together with the Ghanaian filmmaker Yaba Badoe , which was awarded a second prize in the documentation category at the FESPACO 2011 African film festival .

In the summer semester of 2018, Mama Angela-Davis was visiting professor for international gender and diversity studies at the Cornelia Goethe Centrum at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main .

Mama is a board member for various feminist academic journals, including Meridians and Signs .

Think

Mama names the Nigerian women's rights activists Gambo Sawaba and Funmilayo Ransome Kuti as well as the Afro-American civil rights activist Angela Davis as role models for her work . Mama has distanced herself from the term womanist coined by Alice Walker . Unlike Walker, she does not see the need to distance herself from white feminism, which has never been strong enough to be seen as an "enemy" in the same way as global capitalism. Instead, she advocates African feminisms that are supposed to link three dimensions of feminism: the scientific criticism of gender hierarchies with the political criticism of gender inequality and the political practice of feminist groups and organizations.

For the so-called “first lady” phenomenon, Mama coined the term “Femocracy” in 1995, which she used to describe an anti-democratic female power structure. The authority of the protagonists of this structure would not derive from their own activities or ideas, but from the fact that they are married to powerful husbands. Because of this, they might not work effectively for "ordinary" women.

Mama is best known internationally for her work Beyond the Masks , published in 1995 , in which she developed an anti-racist, feminist critique of psychoanalytic perspectives on identity. In it she showed how the subjectivities of black women are shaped by the need to resist the racisms and sexisms of their respective cultural milieus.

A major area of ​​interest for Mama is gender identity in relation to global militarism. She is an open critic of AFRICOM , which she has described as part of the violent neocolonial resource exploitation.

Mama stands up for the (de) colonization of African studies. In 2007, she asked in a lecture how African studies could be further developed so that it treated the life and struggles of the African peoples and their objectives more appreciatively. She criticized the Africanists in the United States for having participated in maintaining colonial patriarchy by marginalizing the intellectual contributions of African scholars. African studies would uncritically use concepts and methods that would reduce complex processes to simplistic, homogeneous tropics over Africa.

Private life

In 1992, Mama married the Somali writer Nuruddin Farah , with whom she has two children. The couple has since separated.

Fonts

Monographs

  • The hidden struggle. Statutory and voluntary sector responses to violence against black women in the home . London Race and Housing Research Unit, London 1989, ISBN 0-9514833-2-3 . Republished in 1996: The hidden struggle. Statutory and voluntary sector responses to violence against Black women in the home . Whiting and Birch, London 1996, ISBN 1-86177-005-7 .
  • Beyond the masks. Race, gender, and subjectivity . Routledge, New York 1995, ISBN 0-203-32648-2 .
  • Womens ̕ studies and studies of women in Africa during the 1990s . In: CODESRIA Working Paper Series . tape 5/96 . CODESRIA, Dakar, Senegal 1996, ISBN 1-904855-18-0 .
  • National machinery for women in Africa. Towards an analysis . In: National machinery series . tape 1 . Third World Network-Africa, Accra North, Ghana 2000.

As editor

  • with A. Imam, Fatou Sow (Ed.): Engendering African social sciences . Codesria, Dakar, Senegal 1997, ISBN 2-86978-063-X .

Article (selection)

  • Black Women, the Economic Crisis and the British State . In: Feminist Review . No. 17 , 1984, pp. 21-35 , doi : 10.2307 / 1395007 , JSTOR : 1395007 . Republished in 1992: Black Women, the Economic Crisis and the British State . In: Maggie Humm (Ed.): Modern feminisms. Political, literary, cultural . Columbia University Press, New York 1992, ISBN 0-231-08072-7 , pp. 151-155 .
  • Violence against Black Women: Gender, Race and State Responses . In: Feminist Review . No. 32 , 1989, pp. 30-48 , doi : 10.2307 / 1395362 , JSTOR : 1395362 . Republished in 1992: Violence against Black Women: Gender, Race and State Responses . In: Maggie Humm (Ed.): Modern feminisms. Political, literary, cultural . Columbia University Press, New York 1992, ISBN 0-231-08072-7 , pp. 156-162 .
  • Black Women and the Police: A Place Where the Law is Not Upheld . In: Winston James, Clive Harris (Eds.): Inside Babylon. The Caribbean diaspora in Britain . Verso, London 1993, ISBN 0-86091-471-2 , pp. 135-152 .
  • Feminism or Femocracy? State Feminism and Democratization in Nigeria . In: Africa Development / Afrique et Développement . tape 20 , no. 1 , 1995, p. 37-58 , JSTOR : 43657968 .
  • Sheroes and Villains: Conceptualizing Colonial and Contemporary Violence Against Women in Africa . In: Alexander, M. Jacqui., Mohanty, Chandra Talpade (Eds.): Feminist genealogies, colonial legacies, democratic futures . Routledge, New York 1997, ISBN 0-415-91211-3 , pp. 46-62 .
  • Khaki in the Family: Gender Discourses and Militarism in Nigeria . In: African Studies Review . tape 41 , no. 2 , 1998, p. 1-17 , doi : 10.2307 / 524824 , JSTOR : 524824 .
  • Strengthening Civil Society: Participatory Action Research in a Militarized State . In: Development in Practice . tape 10 , no. 1 , 2000, pp. 59-70 , JSTOR : 4029772 .
  • Why We Must Write: Personal Reflections on Linking the Alchemy of Science with the Relevance of Activism . In: Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity . No. 46 , 2000, pp. 13-20 , doi : 10.2307 / 4066275 , JSTOR : 4066275 .
  • Challenging Subjects: Gender and Power in African Contexts: Plenary Address, Nordic Africa Institute Conference: 'Beyond Identity: Rethinking Power in Africa', Upsala, October 4-7th 2001 . In: African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie . tape 5 , no. 2 , 2001, p. 63-73 , JSTOR : 24487697 .
  • Gender Studies for African Transformation . In: P. Thandika Mkandawire (Ed.): African intellectuals. Rethinking politics, language, gender, and development . Zed Books, New York 2005, ISBN 2-86978-145-8 .
  • Is It Ethical to Study Africa? Preliminary Thoughts on Scholarship and Freedom . In: African Studies Review . tape 50 , no. 1 , April 2007, ISSN  0002-0206 , p. 1–26 , doi : 10.1353 / arw.2005.0122 .
  • with Margo Okazawa-Rey: militarism, conflict and women's activism in the global era: challenges and prospects for women in three West African contexts . In: Feminist Review . No. 101 , 2012, p. 97-123 , JSTOR : 41495235 .
  • Pan-Africanism: beyond survival to renaissance? In: Open democracy. June 28, 2013, accessed July 20, 2018 .
  • with Yaba Badoe, Salem Mekuria: African feminist engagements with film. In: Open democracy. May 27, 2014, accessed July 20, 2018 .
  • Where we must stand: African women in an age of war. In: Open democracy. September 23, 2014, accessed July 20, 2018 .
  • Challenging militarized masculinities. In: Open democracy. September 26, 2016, accessed July 20, 2018 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Cornelia Goethe Centrum (Ed.): Factsheet on Amina Mama . June 2018 ( uni-frankfurt.de [PDF; accessed on June 26, 2018]).
  2. ↑ a b Elaine Salo, Amina Mama: Talking about Feminism in Africa . In: Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity . No. 50 , 2001, p. 58-63 , JSTOR : 4066405 .
  3. ↑ a b Amina Mama: Beyond the masks. Race, gender, and subjectivity . Routledge, New York 1995, ISBN 0-203-32648-2 , pp. 79 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Amina Mama, Mills College, 2009 ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Amina Mama: Beyond the masks. Race, gender, and subjectivity . Routledge, New York 1995, ISBN 0-203-32648-2 , pp. 3 .
  6. ↑ a b c Amina Mama: Beyond the masks. Race, gender, and subjectivity . Routledge, New York 1995, ISBN 0-203-32648-2 , pp. Blurb .
  7. ↑ a b Contributors . In: Feminist Africa . No. 22 , 2017 ( agi.ac.za [PDF; accessed July 20, 2018]).
  8. ↑ a b Amina Mama | African Gender Institute. August 5, 2010, accessed July 20, 2018 .
  9. ^ Feminist Africa Issue 1 . 2002 ( agi.ac.za [accessed July 20, 2018]).
  10. ↑ CV mom. In: Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity. Accessed July 21, 2018 (English).
  11. ↑ Mama 2003/2004. In: Prince Claus Chair in Development and Equity. Accessed July 21, 2018 (English).
  12. ^ Quynh Tran: International Feminist Scholar Teams with US Congresswoman Lee to Teach Real Politics at Mills College. Mills College Newsroom February 5, 2008. ( Memento of March 4, 2016 on the Internet Archive )
  13. ↑ a b Faculty | Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at UC Davis. Retrieved July 20, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Jew G. Akudinobi: Yaba Badoe. The Witches of Gambaga. 2010. Ghana / UK English and local languages, with English subtitles. 55 minutes. The Collective Eye. $ 250.00. In: African Studies Review . tape 55 , no. 2 , September 2012, ISSN  0002-0206 , p. 195-196 , doi : 10.1353 / arw.2012.0038 , JSTOR : 43904838 .
  15. ↑ " The Witches of Gambaga : About ", accessed October 24, 2010.
  16. ↑ Front Matter . In: Meridians . tape 16 , no. 2 , 2018, p. i – iv , doi : 10.2979 / meridians.16.2.01 .
  17. ↑ Masthead . In: Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society . August 22, 2012 ( signsjournal.org [accessed July 21, 2018]).
  18. ↑ Amina Mama: Feminism or Femocracy? State Feminism and Democratization in Nigeria . In: Africa Development / Afrique et Développement . tape 20 , no. 1 , 1995, p. 37-58 , JSTOR : 43657968 .
  19. ↑ Cheryl de la Rey, Amina Mama, Zine Magubane: Beyond the Masks . In: Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity . No. 32 , 1997, pp. 17-23 , doi : 10.2307 / 4066148 , JSTOR : 4066148 .
  20. ↑ Amina Mama, " Where we must stand: African women in an age of war ", opendemocracy , April 15, 2012 (originally published September 2011).
  21. ↑ Amina Mama, Margo Okazawa-Rey: Editorial: Militarism, Conflict and Women's Activism . In: Feminist Africa . No. 10 , 2008 ( agi.ac.za [PDF; accessed July 20, 2018]).
  22. ↑ Amina Mama: Sheroes and Villains: Conceptualizing Colonial and Contemporary Violence Against Women in Africa . In: Alexander, M. Jacqui., Mohanty, Chandra Talpade (Eds.): Feminist genealogies, colonial legacies, democratic futures . Routledge, New York 1997, ISBN 0-415-91211-3 , pp. 46-62 .
  23. ↑ Is It Ethical to Study Africa? Preliminary Thoughts on Scholarship and Freedom . In: African Studies Review . tape 50 , no. 1 , April 2007, ISSN  0002-0206 , p. 1–26 , doi : 10.1353 / arw.2005.0122 .
  24. ↑ Robtel Neajai pailey: Where is the 'African' in African Studies? - African Arguments . In: African Arguments . June 7, 2016 ( africanarguments.org [accessed July 20, 2018]).
  25. ↑ Nuruddin Farah: A Photographic Album 1962-1998 . In: World Literature Today . tape 72 , no. 4 , 1998, pp. 718–722, here 720 , JSTOR : 40154260 (Contains photos of the traditional wedding in Bida and with Amina Mama's parents as well as of the children of Amina Mama and Nuruddin Farah.).
  26. ↑ Dinitia Smith: A Somali Author as Guide to a Dantean Inferno . In: New York Times . May 19, 2004 ( nytimes.com [accessed June 24, 2018]).
  27. ↑ Kunle Ajibade: Nurudin Farah In Conversation: Good Fiction Is Never Far From the Truth. In: Premium Times Nigeria. December 7, 2018, accessed December 26, 2018 (UK English).
personal data
SURNAME Mama, Amina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian-British psychologist and feminist
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1958