Thus far, this has been an exciting year for the African Studies Women’s Caucus (WC)! We, WC officers, wish the WC community a happy new year. As many of you have noticed, there have been new and exciting changes coming to the Women’s Caucus. Wangui Wa Goro and Maria Cattell have served their terms as co-convenors and I, Jacqueline-Bethel Mougoué, am honored to be joining Josephine Dawuni as co-convenor. We’re both excited to be at the helm of the WC for the 2017-2018 year. The WC has meant much to us during the trajectory of our academic careers, providing key mentorship from senior scholars and networking opportunities. As Josephine reflects, “As a young African woman, joining the WC has been very instrumental in getting me connected to other scholars and being more engaged with the ASA, as well.” Alicia Decker, Membership Secretary, similarly echoes, “The WC has given me the opportunity to meet and work with scholars that I have admired for many years. It has been a great place to build a community with African and Africanist feminist scholars from around the world.” But we have also been lucky to have the opportunity to mentor junior scholars ourselves. Since joining the WC community, I have been excited to offer guidance to graduate students, always keeping in mind the key women scholars who have invested time and energy in mentoring me over the last ten years. Yet, WC has also provided us with mentorship beyond the world of academia, with members offering life advice on a variety of issues. As Tara Reyelts, WC Treasurer, observes, “Many members have offered valuable advice and encouragement for my field work research. I feel like I have numerous sisters and aunts watching out for my academic and personal well-being.”
It is these experiences, among many, that drive our continued passion for the WC and our growing community.
We kindly remind individuals to their memberships for 2018 online. If you renewed your membership during or since the last annual meeting, then your membership is current. Please be advised that memberships run for the calendar year.