Gender and Development

At Indiana University South Bend

I taught this Cultural Anthropology course at Indiana University South Bend in Fall 2019, when it was cross-listed with Women’s and Gender Studies and ran under the title "Women in Developing Countries." It was intended for upper-level students in the social sciences and humanities and took the form of a 30-student seminar inspired by community engagement. It examined gendered patterns in global inequality with special attention to recognizing women’s voices, agency, and differences, in the context of larger structures of power. We focused on feminist anthropological methods and took a critical view toward development work.

The course incorporated guest visits from local experts and organizations involved in serving women and families in our community and in other parts of the world, including a small non-profit serving recent immigrants and refugees who are settling in the area and another that works on HIV/AIDS education in Malawi.

Students in this course completed a life history interview with a woman in the community, and were invited to participate in activities with organizations our guest visitors represent. We partnered with one of the organizations and several student organizations and offices on campus to plan, promote, and host a public event through which participants gained hands-on experience contributing to development work that would have a direct impact on women. This “Party with a Purpose” addressed gendered lack of access to healthcare, education, and more.

View the syllabus from Fall 2019 here:

Guest Speakers

in Fall 2019

• Andrei Popescu, historian of Margaret Thatcher, Université de Toulon
• Andrea Cramer, founder and director, Neighbor to Neighbor
• Phyllis Wezeman, founder and director, Malawi Matters
• Kylea Mumaw, Anthropology major, IUSB