Representing Women: A Southern African Experiment in Building Women's Agency through Narrative
Center for African Studies
Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE)
Clayman Institute for Gender Research
Creative Writing Program
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
School of Humanities and Sciences
Stanford Humanities Center
424 Santa Teresa Street, Stanford, CA 94305
Levinthal Hall and Board Room
Centering Africa Annual Lecture, followed by the CAS Welcome Reception
Join us for the Center for African Studies’ Centering Africa Annual Lecture, a platform that celebrates the work and contributions of prominent figures from the African continent and its diaspora. This year’s lecture, Representing Women: A Southern African Experiment in Building Women's Agency through Narrative, will feature internationally acclaimed Zimbabwean writer, filmmaker, and activist Tsitsi Dangarembga.
The Annual Lecture is an opportunity to engage with trailblazing thought leaders whose intellectual contributions shape our understanding of Africa and its global diasporas. Tsitsi Dangarembga’s work, through literature and film, offers powerful explorations of identity, gender, and social change. Her Tambudzai Trilogy, including Nervous Conditions, The Book of Not, and This Mournable Body (shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2020), highlights the complexities of African women's lives and the ongoing struggle for agency.
In this talk, Tsitsi Dangarembga will present her work from the last two and a half decades, highlighting her efforts to positively impact Zimbabwean women's agency through both film and literature. She will also explore the theoretical underpinnings that have shaped her creative and activist endeavors.
This event will be held in person and virtually. RSVP is required to attend.
About the Speaker:
Tsitsi Dangarembga lives and works in Zimbabwe where she was born. She is the author of the Tambudzai Trilogy comprising of Nervous Conditions, The Book of Not and This Mournable Body. This Mournable Body was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2020. In 2021 she was awarded the PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression, the Pen Pinter Prize and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
Tsitsi is the inaugural University of East Anglia International Chair in Creative writing, a board member of Pavillon Afriques at Cannes and has served on the juries of Africa’s most prestigious film festivals, including Durban International Film Festival, Carthage International Film Festival, Luxor African Film Festival and the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust. She was appointed to the International Jury of the Berlin International Film Festival 2022.