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MARCH 5, 2001--A renowned scholar who has served as an apprentice with traditional healers in eastern Africa will discuss "African History: The Attack on Essentialism and the Loss of the Local" in a free, public lecture Monday, March 12 at Oberlin College.
Steven Feierman, history professor and chair of the Department of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania, will present his talk at 7 P.M. in Room 101 of Wilder Student Union, 135 W. Lorain St.
In his talk, he will focus on the development of a critical approach to studying African cultural history and the difficulties that this has presented to authentic representation of specific African cultures. Feierman will discuss the advances in this field of study, the resulting challenges, and suggest ways to write about African histories and cultures while avoiding essentialist pitfalls.
Feierman is the founder of the African History Doctoral Program at the University of Florida, and is a co-organizer of the Project on the History of the Pangani Valley Region of Tanzania. A prolific author, Feierman has published numerous books, including Health and Society in Africa: A Working Bibliography, Peasant Intellectuals: Anthropology and History in Tanzania, and The Social Basis of Health and Healing in Africa. He is a major contributor to scholarly journals and publications, including African Studies Review, Social Science Medicine, and Encyclopedia of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Mead-Swing Lecture Committee is sponsoring Feierman's campus visit.
Media Contact: Sue Kropp
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