
Female Circumcision and the Politics of Knowledge
African Women in Imperialist Discourses
Obioma Nnaemeka(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 30. July 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-0-89789-865-2 (ISBN)
Description
Heated debates about and insurgencies against female circumcision are symptoms of a disease emanating from a mindset that produced hierarchies of humans, conquered colonies, and built empires. The loss of colonies and empires does not in any way mitigate the ideological underpinnings of empire-building and the knowledge construction that subtends it. The mindset finds its articulation at points of coalescence. Female circumcision provided a point of coalescence and impetus for this articulation. Insisting that the hierarchy on which the imperialist project rests is not bipolar but multi-layered and more complex, the contributions in this volume demonstrate how imperialist discourses complicate issues of gender, race, and history. Nnaemeka gives voice to the silenced and marginalized, and creates space for them to participate in knowledge construction and theory making.
The authors in this volume trace the travels of imperial and colonial discourses from antecedents in anthropology, travel writings, and missionary discourse, to modern configurations in films, literature, and popular culture. The contributors interrogate foreign, or Western, modus operandi and interventions in the so-called Third World and show how the resistance they generate can impede development work and undermine the true collaboration and partnership necessary to promote a transnational feminist agenda. With great clarity and in simple, accessible language, the contributors present complex ideas and arguments which hold significant implications for transnational feminism and development.
The authors in this volume trace the travels of imperial and colonial discourses from antecedents in anthropology, travel writings, and missionary discourse, to modern configurations in films, literature, and popular culture. The contributors interrogate foreign, or Western, modus operandi and interventions in the so-called Third World and show how the resistance they generate can impede development work and undermine the true collaboration and partnership necessary to promote a transnational feminist agenda. With great clarity and in simple, accessible language, the contributors present complex ideas and arguments which hold significant implications for transnational feminism and development.
Reviews / Votes
[T]his thought-provoking volume--which probes the bases of ethnocentric 'value-free' and ahistorical approaches to social issues--provides a valuable corrective to the dominant discours on African women's practice of female circumcision. * Journal of African History *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
456 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-89789-865-2 (9780897898652)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Obioma Nnaemeka is Professor of French, Women's Studies, and African/African Diaspora Studies and Director of the Women's Studies Program at Indiana University, Indianapolis. She is also the President of the Association of African Women Scholars. Professor Nnaemeka has published extensively on literature, women's/gender studies, development, and African/African Diaspora studies.
Content
INTRODUCTION
The Challenges of Border-Crossing: African Women and Transnational Feminisms by Obioma Nnaemeka
CULTURES, SEXUALITIES, AND KNOWLEDGE
Sex and Imperialism in Africa by Nawal El Saadawi
African Women, Colonial Discourses, and Imperialist Interventions: Female Circumcision as Impetus by Obioma Nnaemeka
Transcending the Boundaries of Power and Imperialism: Writing Gender, Constructing Knowledge by Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka
BODIES THAT DON'T MATTER
Out of Africa: "Our Bodies Ourselves?" by Vicki Kirby
Women's Rights, Bodies, and Identities: The Limits of Universalism and the Legal Debate around Excision in France by Francoise Lionnet
"Other" Bodies: Western Feminism, Race, and Representation in Female Circumcision Discourse by Chima Korieh
IMPERIAL GAZE AND FICTIONS
Libidinal Quicksand: Imperial Fictions and African Femininity by Jude Akudinobi
Confronting the Western Gaze by Eloise Briere
TRANSNATIONAL FEMINIST CONTENTIONS: SISTERHOOD AND COALITION POLITICS REVISITED
The Anti Female Circumcision Campaign Deficit by L. Amede Obiora
Colonial Discourse and Ethnographic Residuals: The "Female Circumcision" Debate and the Politics of Knowledge by Sondra Hale
Parallax Sightlines: Alice Walker's Sisterhood and the Key to Dreams by Chimalum Nwankwo
Overcoming Willful Blindness: Building Egalitarian Multicultural Women's Coalitions by Ange-Marie Hancock
Notes on Contributors
Index
The Challenges of Border-Crossing: African Women and Transnational Feminisms by Obioma Nnaemeka
CULTURES, SEXUALITIES, AND KNOWLEDGE
Sex and Imperialism in Africa by Nawal El Saadawi
African Women, Colonial Discourses, and Imperialist Interventions: Female Circumcision as Impetus by Obioma Nnaemeka
Transcending the Boundaries of Power and Imperialism: Writing Gender, Constructing Knowledge by Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka
BODIES THAT DON'T MATTER
Out of Africa: "Our Bodies Ourselves?" by Vicki Kirby
Women's Rights, Bodies, and Identities: The Limits of Universalism and the Legal Debate around Excision in France by Francoise Lionnet
"Other" Bodies: Western Feminism, Race, and Representation in Female Circumcision Discourse by Chima Korieh
IMPERIAL GAZE AND FICTIONS
Libidinal Quicksand: Imperial Fictions and African Femininity by Jude Akudinobi
Confronting the Western Gaze by Eloise Briere
TRANSNATIONAL FEMINIST CONTENTIONS: SISTERHOOD AND COALITION POLITICS REVISITED
The Anti Female Circumcision Campaign Deficit by L. Amede Obiora
Colonial Discourse and Ethnographic Residuals: The "Female Circumcision" Debate and the Politics of Knowledge by Sondra Hale
Parallax Sightlines: Alice Walker's Sisterhood and the Key to Dreams by Chimalum Nwankwo
Overcoming Willful Blindness: Building Egalitarian Multicultural Women's Coalitions by Ange-Marie Hancock
Notes on Contributors
Index