Respect Existence or Expect Resistance: The Costs of Resisting the Heteropatriarchy in Uganda
Still a few spots left, register now before they are gone!
This year our inaugural Machteld De Metsenaere lecture is given by Dr. Stella Nyanzi. Stella Nyanzi is a self-proclaimed academic-activist-artist-agitator and will speak on her experiences in resisting the heteropatriarchy in Uganda. She is a multiple award-winning knowledge producer who is currently a scholarship-holder of the Writers-in-Exile program of PEN Zentrum Deutschland.
The programme
| 18h | Inaugural lecture by Dr. Stella Nyanzi |
| 19h | Discussion with Dr.'s Memory Mphaphuli (Rhea Coordinator) and Hannelore Van Bavel |
| 19h30 | Audience Q&A |
| 20h | Reception |
Location: D.0.03, VUB Main Campus Etterbeek
The speakers
About Dr. Stella Nyanzi:
Dr. Stella Nyanzi currently specializes in the multidisciplinary sub-fields of Queer African Studies, African Feminism, Critical Masculinity Studies, Dissidence Studies, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.
She is also a published poet, whose oeuvre includes No Roses From My Mouth: Poems from Prison (2020), Don’t Come in My Mouth: Poems that Rattled Uganda (2021), Eulogies of My Mouth (2022) and Exiled for My Mouth: Poems from Across Borders (2023).
She is a social justice activist whose engagement is situated in the intersection of women’s and LGBTIQA+ rights, labour rights, free expression and academic freedom, digital democracy, civil and political rights, etc., focused on Uganda and Africa more broadly. Moreover, she is an engaged politician belonging to Uganda’s opposition political party called the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). She contested in the 2021 national elections for the position of Woman of Parliament for Kampala District constituency.
About Dr. Memory Mphaphuli:
Memory Mphaphuli is a dedicated black feminist sociologist from South Africa, with a profound commitment to advancing critical perspectives on the study of heterosexuality as both a social institution and a lived practice. She explores the multifaceted dimensions of heterosexuality, recognizing it as a complex and evolving social construct that intersects with gender, race, age, and class, and power.
Her research is firmly rooted in feminist methodologies and theories, which offer a nuanced lens for dissecting the intricacies of gender, sexuality, and power dynamics. Additionally, she incorporates decolonial perspectives, recognizing the enduring influence of apartheid and colonial legacies on contemporary societal structures. She believes that this interdisciplinary approach allows her to challenge normative assumptions and interrogate the intersections of privilege and oppression.
About Dr. Hannelore Van Bavel:
Dr Hannelore Van Bavel is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Rhea Research Centre for Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality at VUB and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol.
Her research lies at the nexus of social anthropology and intersectional and postcolonial feminist theory. She is fascinated by how the intersections of gender, race, location, and culture shape societal and medical discourses on women's health and bodies and how these discourses affect women.
Her current research project, funded by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Postdoctoral Fellowship, focuses on female genital cosmetic surgeries (FGCS) in Belgium and the Netherlands.
