Abosede George is the Tow Associate Professor of History at Barnard College and Columbia University, New York. She teaches courses in African migrations, urban history, African history, historical mapping, girlhood and youth studies, women’s studies, and gender and sexuality in African history. She is also the President of the Nigerian Studies Association, an affiliate of the African Studies Association.
Her book, Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor, and Social Development (Ohio University Press, 2014), won the Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize in 2015 and received Honorable Mention from the New York African Studies Association.
Education
- B.A. History, Rutgers University (1999)
- M.A. History, Stanford University (2002)
- Ph.D. History, Stanford University (2006)
Career
George began teaching at Stanford University in 2003 as a Teaching Fellow. In 2006, she joined Trinity College as Assistant Professor of History and International Studies. She moved to Barnard College/Columbia University in 2007. In 2011, she was a visiting assistant professor at Rutgers University.
Her research focuses on: - African urban history - History of childhood and youth - Gender, women, and sexuality in African contexts
She has published in: - American Historical Review - Journal of Social History - Meridians - Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East - Women’s Studies Quarterly - Journal of West African History - Washington Post
She founded The Ekopolitan Project, a digital forum for historical research on migrant communities in Lagos, West Africa.
Honors and Awards
- Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize (2015)
- Honorable Mention, NYASA Book Prize
- Paula J. Giddings Best Article Award (2019)
- Featured at 2018 Lagos Photo Festival, with an audio piece based on the colonial Lagos court case Ayebomi vs. Regina
- Member, Board of Directors, Lagos Studies Association (founding member)
Affiliations
- Africana Studies Program, Barnard
- Institute for African Studies (IAS), Columbia
- Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW)
- Center for the Critical Analysis of Social Difference (CCASD)
- Member of:
- African Studies Association
- Nigerian Studies Association (President)
- Society for the History of Childhood and Youth
Selected Publications
- Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor, and Social Development (2014) – Winner of Aidoo-Snyder Prize
- “Saving Nigerian Girls” (Meridians, 2018) – Winner of 2019 Paula J. Giddings Award
- “Brazilian-Style Architecture and Lagosian Modernity” (Journal of West African History, 2021)
- “Within Salvation: Girl Hawkers and the Colonial State” (Journal of Social History, 2011)
- “Feminist Activism and Class Politics” (Women’s Studies Quarterly, 2007)
- Contributor to AHR Conversation: Each Generation Writes Its Own History of Generations (2018)
See Also
- Barnard College Faculty(https://barnard.edu)
- African Studies Association(https://africanstudies.org)
- The Ekopolitan Project(https://ekopolitanproject.org)