A lone ranger: My journey towards becoming a feminist geographer in Nairobi,Kenya

Abstract

Very few Kenyan universities offer modules on Gender or Feminism in their courses. Women are largely under-represented and very few hold senior positions. Due to the few numbers of female faculty, mentorship for young female scholars is lacking. Feminist writing by Female Kenyan geographers in professional geography journals is limited. Collective action among female geography faculty is also largely absent. This is largely due to the lack of feminist advocacy and policies in the universities. My journey to becoming a feminist geographer has received little or no support from the university. I have taken personal initiatives to link up with local and transnational gender associations in order to get insights on current feminist scholarship issues. My lived feminist experience and observations of the struggles of ordinary women in everyday livelihood negotiation have been my main motivation for continuing to do feminist work. Thus, my feminist work has concentrated on women in marginal economic informality. This paper presents my journey as a feminist geographer. It begins with a discussion on the state of feminist geography in three universities in Kenya namely, University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University and Egerton University. This is followed by a presentation of my journey toward becoming a feminist geographer in the absence of a supportive infrastructure. My journey has been inspired by my lived experience. The paper concludes with a call for a concerted effort for feminist advocacy in Kenyan Geography departments.     

THE RELEVANCE OF THE WORLD‐SYSTEM APPROACH IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION OF ECONOMIC FLOWS AND NETWORKS

Is world‐systems analysis of any relevance to present‐day economic flows? By using methods in line with the world‐system and dependence theories, we show that economic flows – trade and foreign direct investment – still deeply separate core and peripheries. On the one hand, through the analysis of the trade by products, we show that core countries hold on to a higher position in the international division of labour. On the other hand, by using network method, we highlight that core countries are still characterized by the intensity of their reciprocal relations while peripheral countries have few economic relations with a limited number of core countries. Moreover, the article demonstrates that this core–periphery division of the world has not lost its pertinence; it is as relevant as at the end of the sixties. In the current era of globalization, economic flows are still deeply structured by basic power relations between core and peripheries. However, the article also develops a theoretical framework to understand dynamics of the world‐system and insists on the emergence of Eastern Asia as a new core area, notably by showing the rising position of some East Asian countries in the international division of labour. We conclude by underlying the necessity to integrate world‐system and global network theoretical frameworks.