UTSA historian receives National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Grant to do research in Africa
Share this Story(August 9, 2016) -- Rhonda M. Gonzales, associate professor of history at The University Texas at San Antonio, is a recipient of a $200,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Grant. Over the next three years, Gonzales and her collaborators will work with colleagues in Africa to plan and conduct top-tier research and data analysis on gender history.
Gonzales will work with Cymone Fourshey from Bucknell University and Christine Saidi of Kutztown University to examine the historical depth of transformations in social, political, economic and institutional authority women have held in central and east Africa.
"As historians, we raise questions about the present as we interrogate and reconstruct the past and yet when it comes to gender, we are too often expected to apply modern day patterns to the past," said Gonzales.
Their project will focus on answering questions about lineage and gender as features of authority, identity, belonging and worldview in eastern and central Africa's Bantu-speaking communities. The researchers will use a large amount of qualitative and quantitative data to assess how communities determined who made decisions and how they made them.
"This project turns gender history on its head, leaving all assumptions behind," said Gonzales. "We want to ask such questions as, "Is gender a recent construct in Africa? If so, what existed before gender and what was its relationship to authority and power in Africa? Should we assume men have always held more economic, political and social power and authority than women?"
Gonzales and her collaborators plan to bring students into the research process as well, giving them opportunities to do innovative projects and get first-hand experience with scholarships and publication. The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded $5 billion in grants to build the nation’s cultural capital at museums, libraries and colleges and universities.
Gonzales teaches courses on all eras of African history, the African Diaspora and World History to 1500. Her research areas include comparative historical linguistics, the history of Bantu religion, and the African presence in Colonial Mexico. The Ford Foundation, American Historical Association and Andrew Mellon Foundations have supported her research. In 2016, she was awarded a $3.25 million Title-V grant to create PIVOT for Academic Success programs at UTSA.
By Kara Mireles
Public Affairs Specialist
-------------------------------
Learn more about UTSA PIVOT Programs.
Learn more about the UTSA Department of History.
Learn more about the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Connect online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Events
This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.
