Meredeth Turshen is Professor Emerita in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. Her research has focused on international health and she specializes in public health policy. Her books include: The Political Ecology of Disease in Tanzania (1984), The Politics of Public Health (1989), and Privatizing Health Services in Africa (1999), all with Rutgers University Press, Gender and the Political Economy of Conflict in Africa: The Persistence of Violence (Routledge, 2016), and Women’s Health Movements: A Global Force for Change (PalgraveMacmillan, 2007; 2020); she has edited six other books, Women and Health in Africa (Africa World Press, 1991), Women’s Lives and Public Policy: The International Experience (Greenwood, 1993), What Women Do in Wartime: Gender and Conflict in Africa (Zed Books, 1998), which was translated into French (L’Harmattan, 2001), African Women’s Health (Africa World Press, 2000), The Aftermath: Women in Postconflict Transformation (Zed Books, 2002), and African Women: A Political Economy (PalgraveMacmillan, 2010). She has served on the boards of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars, the Committee for Health in Southern Africa, the Review of African Political Economy and the Journal of Public Health Policy.
Education
D.Phil. University of Sussex, England, 1975. Comparative Politics. Dissertation: “The Political Economy of Health with a Case Study of Tanzania.” Supervisors: R. Benewick, B. Graham, J. Powles, G. Lamb
M.A. New York University, 1961. Political Science. Thesis: “Japan, 1931. A Study of the Manchurian Crisis.” Advisor: Thomas Hovet
B.A. Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 1959. Philosophy. Junior year at the University of London with Richard Wollheim and A. J. Ayer
Fellowships & Awards
Institute for Commonwealth Studies, University of London, Spring 2012, Summer 2014, 2015
Fulbright Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice, University of Ottawa, Fall 2011
Jerome Rose Teaching Award, Rutgers University, 2009
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Moulin à Nef, Auvillar, France, 2008, 2018
Leadership in Diversity Award, Rutgers University, 2007
Vermont Studio Center Writer’s Grant and Residency, (annual) 2004-2010
Blue Mountain Center Fellowship, 2003
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Gerald R. Dodge Foundation award, 2001
Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture Faculty Fellowship, 1995-96
Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad: Continuity and Change in Morocco and Tunisia, 1993
Hirsch Farm Project, Residency, Hillsboro, Wisconsin, July 1992
Rutgers University Faculty Merit Award 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Paris, Fellow, 1989-90
Rutgers University Faculty Academic Study Program Award: Fall 1985, Fall 1989, Spring 1994, Fall 1997, Spring 2001, Fall 2004, Spring 2008, Spring 2012, Spring 2016
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Residency, 1987
NJIT Alumni Association Authors Citation for The Political Ecology of Disease in Tanzania awarded at 18th Annual NJ Writers Conference 1985
National Science Foundation, Residency, 1977-78
The Institute for Policy Studies, Washington DC, Fellow 1976-77
The Population Council, Fellowship, 1972-73
Employment
1982-2018: Professor, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Member of Graduate Faculty, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
1983-2010 Faculty of New Jersey Graduate Program in Public Health; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Community Medicine, UMDNJ-RWJMS
1994-1995: Graduate Director, Women’s Studies Program
1990-98: Coordinator, Gender and Development Planning, Urban Planning Department
1982-1990: Director, Public Health Program, Department of Urban Studies and Community Health
1980-82: Associate Professor, Graduate School, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
1981-82: African Studies and Research Program; 1980-81: Director, International Studies, School of Human Ecology
1979-80: Director, International Toxic Substances Control Project, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, D.C.
1965-72: Technical Officer, Maternal and Child Health, Family Health Division, World Health Organization, Geneva. WHO Liaison Officer on Youth and Adolescence, 1970-72
1960-65: Research Assistant, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York. Research Assistant for Planning, 1964-1965
Grants
Center for Cultural Analysis, “The Art and Aesthetics of Power Relations and Demography” (with Marc Weiner) 2016-2017
GAIA Faculty and Graduate Students Interdisciplinary Working Groups in Global Health Research, Award for “Economic systems and international disparities, dependencies, poverty and ill health” 2014-2015
IWL – Interdisciplinary Innovations and Collaborations Fund, 2013: new course on Medical Globalization, Rutgers University
Global Initiatives – 2013-2014 Biennial Theme-Global Health! “Symposium on Maternal and Child Mortality and AIDS in Africa” Rutgers University
Global Initiatives – 2012-2013 Biennial Theme – Technologies Without Borders: Technologies Across Borders “Kony and the Congo” Rutgers University
Global Initiatives Theme – Ecologies in the balance? 2010-2011, Rutgers University
Global Initiatives – Climate Change, 2009-2010, Rutgers University
Geopolitics of petroleum, Rutgers University Faculty Cluster, 2008-2009
What Women Do in Wartime, Rutgers University Research Council, 1999-2000
Women in Post-conflict Transformation, Ford Foundation, 1999-2000
The Aftermath Conference, Ford Foundation West Africa, 1998
Global Health Project, Jerry Shore Fund, New York Community Trust, 1996, 1997, 1999
Workers Compensation in New Jersey and Massachusetts, Environmental and Occupational Health Institute, UMDNJ-RWJMS, 1993
Workers Compensation in California, Rutgers University Research Council, 1992-93
Comparative Study of Public Health in France and the USA, Rutgers University Research Council, 1991-92
Women and Population in Africa, Rutgers University Research Council, 1989-90
Graduate Focus on International Development Policy, The President’s Coordinating Council’s Funds for International Programs, 1988-89 (with S. El Shakhs and B. Holcomb)
Maternal and Child Health in Southern Africa, Rutgers University Research Council, 1987-88
Graduate Focus on International Development Policy, The President’s Coordinating Council’s Funds for International Programs, 1986-87
Health Services in Gabon, Rutgers University Research Council, 1986-87
The Politics of Public Health, Rutgers University Research Council, 1985-86
Child Labor and Health, Rutgers University Research Council, 1984-85
Basic Health Needs Delivery under Conditions of Economic Change, International Labor Organization, Geneva, 1976-1977
Comparative Analysis of British and American Health Services, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, D.C., 1976-1977
An Analysis of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, D.C., 1976-1977
Consulting
2011: Partnership Africa Canada, Ottawa; five-year forward planning
2004-2006: Expert consultant to the International Center on Transitional Justice project on Gender and Reparations
2004: UK Department for International Development, study on the Impact of Armed Violence on Poverty (Centre for International Cooperation and Security, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford)
2004: Consultant to the Hasting Center Project on Medicine in the Marketplace, New York
1999: Expert Adviser, United Nations Economic Commission on Africa Food Security and Sustainable Development Division on women’s reproductive health and household food security in Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1987: Consultant, J. F. Kapnek Charitable Trust, Zimbabwe. Evaluation of WHO Regional Training Course in Primary Health Care for District Level Health Managers
1987: Consultant, Association on American Indian Affairs on third world culture-specific approaches to mental health services
1985: Consultant, UN Centre on Transnational Corporations. Analyzed survey of 200 multinational chemical and pharmaceutical firms on product safety
1984: Consultant, the World Bank for the Conference on World Recession and the Crisis in Africa, University of Keele, UK
1980: Consultant, World Health Organization, Health Manpower Development Division, Geneva. Review of thirty years of international aid to medical education
1978-79: Advisor, National Science Foundation Project on Occupational and Environmental Health in Appalachia for Highlander Center study on industrial health hazards in Kingsport, TN
1977-78: National Science Foundation Office of Science and Society Resident with Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, Washington, D.C. Surveys of job hazards and diseases
1976: Consultant, Algerian National Institute for Public Health, Algiers. Advised on national maternal and child health and family planning program
1976-77: Consultant, Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, Washington, D.C. Research on occupational health and safety conditions and legislation
Invited Conference Papers
Demography, political economy and cultural production, African Studies Association, ACASA Panel: Impediment or Inspiration? Patronage and the arts of Africa, Atlanta, GA, 30 November 2018
Demography, political economy and cultural production: An excursion into interdisciplinarity, Conference on The Future of African Studies, Rutgers University, NJ, 28 September 2018
Violence against women in the new African wars, Conference on War and Sexual Violence, CUNY-Graduate Center, New York, April 28-29, 2016
Violence against women in war economies, Conference “Against Our Will” Forty Years After: Exploring the Field of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict, 2-4 July 2015, Hamburg, Germany
The enduring impact of domestic slavery on women’s status:Case studies of Congo and Sierra Leone, Tenth Annual Greater New York Area African History Workshop, 8 April 2016, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
The Political Economy of War: What women need to know, Women and Girls’ Equality Rights and the Extractive Industries in Africa, University of Ottawa, 28 June 2010
The Political Economy of War: What women need to know, Sexual Violence and Conflict in Africa, Carleton University, 5-6 May 2010
African Women and History, Social Histories of Africa Colloquium, Columbia University, 20 February 2009
African Child Poverty: The Gender Dimension, Third International Conference on the African Child, Addis Ababa, 12-13 May 2008
Phantom Aid, paper presented at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association, San Francisco, 17 November 2006
Bodily Integrity, Institute for Research on Women Distinguished Lecture Series, Rutgers University, 9 November 2006
Algerian Women in the Islamist and Berberist Struggles, book chapter presented at meeting of contributors to Gender and Democratization in Warring Societies, edited by Maureen Hays Mitchell and Jill A. Irvine. Colgate University, 6 October 2006
Beyond the Documentation of Atrocities. Keynote address at Conference on Women, War, and Learning, University of Toronto Women and Gender Studies Institute, Toronto, 6-7 April 2006
The Role of Women in Conflict and Post-conflict Transformation, GMOSS Gender and Security Workshop, Belgirate, Italy, 8 March 2006
The Economic Realities of AIDS Treatment in Africa Today, paper presented at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association, Washington, DC, November 2005
Algerian Women in the Islamist and Berberist Struggles, paper presented at the 13th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women “Sin Fronteras: Women’s Histories, Global Conversations” June 2-5, 2005, Scripps College, Claremont, CA
Algerian Adolescents Caught in the Crossfire, paper presented at the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis Conference on Children and War, April 7-9, 2005
The Warri Crisis, the Niger Delta, and the Nigerian State, Anthropogenic Environments in Africa: Ecological, Medical, and Social Dynamics, An Interdisciplinary Workshop, Center for African Studies, Rutgers University Program in African Studies, and Princeton University, 3 December 2004
The Impact of Civil War on Women and Children, Security, Reconstruction and Reconciliation: When the Wars End, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 23-24 April 2004
The Feminization of Poverty in Africa, Women in the Era of Globalization: Power and Gender, Douglass College, 25 March 2004
Poverty and Social Exclusion, International Union for Scientific Study of Population, Seminar on Emerging Health Threats: HIV, Resurgent Infections, and Population Change in Africa, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 12-14 February 2004
Algerian Women in the Struggle for Independence and Against Civil War, Association for Feminist Anthropology Invited Session, American Anthropological Association, Chicago, 22 November 2003
Privatizing Health Services in Africa: Update, African Studies Association, Boston, 31 October 2003
Contested Claims and Individual Bodies, African Studies Association, Boston, 30 October 2003
Definitions and Injuries of Violence, Colloquium “Responding to Violence,” with Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Columbia University, October 25, 2002
War Demographics and Public Health Planning in War-torn African Societies, Seminar on Macro-Meso-Micro Social Influences in Health: Changing Patterns of Morbidity and Mortality, International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 5-8 June 2002
Women in Post-crisis Transformation in Africa, Third World Congress on Women, Work and Health, Stockholm, 2-5 June 2002
Health and Human Security, Montreal Forum on Africa, 8 February 2002
Women in Armed Conflict in Africa, African Studies Association Roundtable: Conflict in Africa, sponsored by the ASA Board of Directors, Nashville, TN, 18 November 2000
North-South Inequalities and the Medical Marketplace in Africa, Panel on the Political Construction of Public Health, 128th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Boston, MA 13 November 2000.
Integrating the problems of violence into research action: working with women affected by violence, WHO Workshop on Violence against Women in Situations of Armed Conflict, Naples, Italy, 12 October 2000
Women in Armed Conflict, Civil War and Violence: Gender and Conflict in Africa, International Women’s University, Hanover, Germany, 29 September 2000
NGOs and the Provision of Health Care in Southern Africa, Meeting on Medicine and the Market, The Hastings Center, Cape Town, South Africa, 4 August 2000
Women’s Identity in Civil War: The Rwandan Case, Columbia University 19 April 2000
Building Constituencies for Africa in the USA, ACAS Roundtable, African Studies Association 41st Annual Meeting, Chicago, 30 October 1998
Long-term Health Consequences of Political Violence, Canadian Research Consortium on Southern Africa, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, 29 May 1998
Gender and Conflict in Africa, 40th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Columbus, OH, 13 November 1997
Women and Health in Wartime, Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Indianapolis, IN, 10 November 1997
Paying for Private Health Care, World Federation of Public Health Associations 8th International Congress, Arusha, Tanzania, 13 October 1997
AIDS in Africa: Structural and Political Violence, Paper prepared for Thematic Session, “AIDS in International Perspective” organized by the NIH Office of AIDS Research for the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, 12 August 1997, Toronto
Kjekshus Revisited: Twentieth Century Ecological Crisis in Tanzania, 39th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, San Francisco, 23 November 1996
Mapping the Late 20th Century Ecological Collapse in East Africa: From the Gender of Urban Spaces to the Spatiality of New Epidemics. Symposium on Space, Culture and Society in Africa, Center for African Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, 28 March 1996
Human Rights Violations in War Crimes against Women in Africa. 38th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Orlando, 4 November 1995 (with C. Twagiramariya)
Societal Instability in International Perspective: Relevance to HIV/AIDS Prevention. Workshop on the Social and Behavioral Science Base for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Intervention, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, 12 June 1995
Structural Adjustment, Health and Population in Zimbabwe. Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of African Studies, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, 10-13 May 1995
WHO at 47. Conference on the United Nations at Fifty, Hofstra University, NY, 18 March 1995
The Impact of Austerity on African Workers’ Health Care. World Congress of Sociology, Bielefeld, Germany, 18-23 July 1994
The Impact of Privatization on Women’s Health and Health Care in Southern Africa. African Economic Policy and Health Network, Johannesburg, South Africa, 27-29 June 1994
Ethics in International Research and Service: the Case of World Bank Aid to Health Care in Africa. Distinguished Lecture on International Health, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 24 January 1994
The Impact of Structural Adjustment on Women’s Health in Southern Africa. Canadian Research Consortium on Southern Africa, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, 22 January 1994
Trends in the Health Sector with Special Reference to Africa. Conference on Sustainable Development with Equity for the 1990s. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 14-15 May 1993
Trends in International Aid to Health Care in Africa. 35th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Seattle, 23 November 1992
Sex Tourism, the Military and the Spread of HIV in Asia. Conference on Culture, Sexual Behavior and AIDS, University of Amsterdam, 25 July 1992 (with C. Hill)
The Impact and Implications of Unrestrained Sexism. Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Atlanta, 12 November 1991
To Be a Migrant in France: Algerian and West African Women in Paris (with H. Bretin). Institute for Research on Women, 9th Annual Celebration of our Work Conference, New Brunswick, 21 May 1991
International Aid to AIDS in Africa. Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of African Studies, York University, Toronto, 18 May 1991
Les femmes émigrées et la contraception injectable (with H. Bretin). Canadian Association of African Studies, York University, Toronto, 17 May 1991
Le nouvel ordre sanitaire international. Colloque Médical International, La Guerre du Golfe et ses Conséquences Médico-Sanitaires. Algiers, 28 April 1991
U.S. Aid to AIDS in Africa. Conference on the Documentation of an Epidemic: AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. Columbia University, N.Y. 5 November 1990
The Prescription of Contraception in Family Planning Centers in France (with H. Bretin and A. Thébaud-Mony). American Public Health Association, New York. 3 October 1990
Is AIDS Primarily a Sexually Transmitted Disease? INSERM Colloquium on Public Health and the Sexual Transmission of Diseases, Chamonix, France, 25 April 1990
Taking Women Seriously: Toward Democratic Health Care in Africa. ROAPE Conference on Taking Democracy Seriously, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, 24 September 1989
Gender and Development Policy in Third World Urban Areas. Colloquium on Gender and International Development Policy, Rutgers University, 8 April 1989
Social Science and AIDS in Africa. Canadian Association for African Studies, Queens University, Kingston, 12 May 1988
The Impact of International Monetary Fund Policies on Health in Southern Africa. Canadian Association for African Studies Annual Meeting, Queens University, Kingston, 13 May 1988
AIDS and Health in Africa. 35th Dies Natalis Lecture. Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, 28 April 1988
The Impact of Destabilization and Adjustment on the Health of SADCC Members. African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Denver, 21 November 1987
Political Economy and Health in Southern Africa. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 20 October 1987
The Impact on Health of the Impoverishment of Women in NJ. NJ Public Health Association, Piscataway, 12 November 1986 (with J. Regulska)
The Feminization of Poverty in New Jersey. First New Jersey Conference on Women and Health, Rutgers University, 15 June 1985 (with J. Regulska)
The Growth of Population and the Decline of Health in Tanzania, 1920-1960. Canadian Association for African Studies, McGill University, Montreal, 18 May 1985
Health and Human Rights in South Africa. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA, 11-15 November 1984
Food and Hunger in the Ciskei.” Conference on World Recession and the Crisis in Africa, University of Keele, UK, 29 September 1984
Gender and Health: Case Studies of Upper Volta and the Ivory Coast. Conference on African Healing Strategies, University of Florida, Gainsville, 7-10 March 1984
Gender and Health. Panel on Gender, Food, and Health sponsored by Social Science Research Council, African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Boston, 7-10 December 1983
U.S. Aid to Medical Care in Ethiopia, 1950-1970. Second Annual Conference on Ethiopia, Howard University, 4-5 November 1983
Comments on Papers by Donald Heisel and Charles Ratliff. Conference on Hunger and Population Problems in a Militarized World, Rutgers University, 14 Oct. 1983
Croissance démographique et détérioration de la santé en Tanzanie, 1920-1960. Congrès de l’Association Canadienne des Études Africaines, Université Laval, Québec, 15-19 mai 1983
Comments on `The Articulation of Modes of Production: Social Classes in Eritrea’ by J. Gebre-Medhin. Seminar on Eritrea: The Roots of War, Rutgers University, 26 April 1983
Les soins de santé primaires. Séminaire sur le développement d’un système national de santé: l’expérience Algérienne, Alger, 7-8 avril 1983
Economy, Ecology and Disease in West Africa. Symposium on Water Management, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, 8 Dec. 1982
Women, Food and Health in Tanzania: the 1980s Crisis. Conference on Women, Health and International Development, Michigan State University, 22 October 1982
Health Hazards in Pharmaceutical Production. Conference on Modernization and Problems of Occupational Health, Shanghai First Medical College, Shanghai, PRC, 20 July 1982
Health in the Third World. Seminar on the Politics of Health Care, United Methodist Seminars on National and International Affairs, Washington, D.C., 20 May 1982
Socialist Perspectives on Justice and Democracy. Washington Justice Semester Seminar on American Justice, American University, Washington, D.C., 4 September 1981
International Health. Iowa University Health Seminar, United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C., 19 May 1981
Contemporary Crises: Third World Women. Symposium on Feminism and the Critique of Capitalism, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 25 April 1981
A Look at Workers Health and Safety Issues and their Affect Women and Minorities. Antioch School of Law, Seminar on Workers Health and Safety, Washington, D.C., 3 June 1978
Impact of Colonialism on Disease in Tanzania. Metropolitan Medical Anthropological Association, Wenner Gren Foundation, New York, 6 October 1977
An Introduction to the Political Economy of Health. University of Iowa Faculty of Medicine, United Methodist Seminar, Washington, D.C., 17 May 1977
Critique of the Use of Systems Analysis in Health Planning. Society for General Systems Research, Conference on Complexity, Columbia, MD, 24-26 March 1977
Colonialism and Health in Tanzania. Conference on the Political Economy of Health, Transnational Institute, Amsterdam, 30 June 1976
Traditional Medicine and Medical Practice in Tanzania. Health Section, East Coast Conference of Socialist Sociologists, New York, 8 February 1976
Rosa Luxembourg and the Russian Revolution. Institute for Policy Studies Political Economy Seminar, Washington, D.C., 29 March 1976
New Approaches to International Health. Political Economy of Health Section, Union for Radical Political Economics, Smith College, Northampton, 6 December 1975
Utilisation d’indicateurs démographiques et sanitaires dans les programmes de planification familiale. International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Liege, 1973 (with A. Benyoussef and M. Laribi)
International Aspects of Maternal and Child Health. Inter-regional Conference on the Integration of Maternal and Child Health Services. Cairo, 1971 (with F. Rosa)
Public Talks
Sexual violence in the context of armed conflict and criminal, corrupt and violent economies, Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights, U Mass Boston, 24 February 2016
Women’s Economic Activities in Eastern DRC: Livelihoods under Duress, 20 Feb 2014,Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights, UMASS Boston
Race relations, gender, and violence in the Congo. Robert A. Catlin Memorial Lecture, Rutgers University, 3 April 2013
Women in Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Southern Methodist University, 4 November 2011
Femmes, droits humains et activités minières en République démocratique du Congo. University of Quebec in Montreal, 13 October 2011, CIRDIS, Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le développement international et société
The Political Economy of the New Wars. Carleton University, Ottawa, 4 October 2011. Sponsored by the Department of Law, the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University
Violence against Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. University of Ottawa, 21 September 2011. Sponsored by POWER, the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, the International Law group and the Greenberg Lecture Series
Millennium Development Goals: A Feminist Perspective. University of Ottawa, 16 March 2011
African women’s health: mental health and violence against women. Smith College, 12 November 2009
Land to the Tillers! Women’s Land Rights in Africa. Smith College, 12 November 2009
Development in the face of the economic crisis: An opportunity for reforming US foreign assistance in Africa and global health. Testimony for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Africa and Global Health, Washington, DC, 23 April 2009
Food insecurity: The impact on African women and children. Institute for African Development, Cornell University, 12 March 2009
Food insecurity: The impact on African women and children. University of Michigan 4 December 2008
Health policies of African governments: impacts on women and children. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 7 November 2007
Academic Freedom since 9/11. Center for African Studies, Rutgers University, 12 April 2006
Academic Freedom since 9/11. E.J. Bloustein Enlightening Lunch series, Rutgers University, 30 November 2005
The Impact of War on Women and Children in Africa. Building Community Colloquium Lecture, Livingston College, Rutgers University, 28 September 2005
Militarism and Islamism in Algeria. Central Lancashire University, 2 November 2004
Militarism and Islamism in Algeria. University of Bradford Peace Studies Department, 21 October 2004
Gender and War-Torn Societies. Debate with Donna Pankhurst and Janet Bujra, University of Bradford Peace Studies Department, 20 October 2004
The Emotional Impact of War on Women: Successes, Failures and Controversies in Treatment. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 15 March 2004
Why? Feminist Analyses of the State of the World. Scholar and Feminist Conference, Barnard Center for Research on Women, 22 February 2003
Militant Islam: The Impact on Algerian Women. Rutgers Center for African Studies, 18 February 2003
Militarization, Globalization and Women. Emerson College, Boston, 28 March 2002
Algerian Women and the Conflict of the 1990s. Columbia University Seminar on Africa, New York, 7 March 2002
Fighting for Liberation: Where do Women Stand? Rutgers University Women’s Center, 20 February 2002
International Health Aid. Rutgers University Humphrey Program, 14 February 2002
The Globalization of Violence. Cabrini Medical Center, 23 March 2000
Health Consequences of War for African Women. Brecht Forum, New York, 4 March 2000
Globalization and AIDS. Rutgers University Humphrey Program, 3 February 2000
Women in Wartime Rwanda and Liberia. New York Military Affairs Society, 28 January 2000
Deconstructing Health/AIDS/Drugs. ACAS Workshop on “What Policy for Africa?” 10-11 November 1999 (with C. Geshekter)
Women in the Aftermath of War and Armed Conflict. Columbia University, Institute of African Studies, 9 November 1999
Creating an African Women’s Anti-War Coalition. Rutgers University African Studies Coordinating Committee Lecture Series, 26 February 1999
Women in the Aftermath of Civil War: A Report from West Africa. Columbia University, Institute of African Studies, 9 February 1999
The Impact of Globalization on Women. Rutgers University Humphrey Program 15 October 1998
Africa in World Perspective. Columbia University Conference on The Status of Africa: Prospects for Africa after President Clinton’s Visit, 1 May 1998
Women Facing Sexual Violence in Liberia. Columbia University Seminar on African Women Facing Sexual Violence, 22 April 1998
What Women Did in Wartime. Rutgers University African Studies Coordinating Committee, 17 April 1998
Contested Claims and Individual Bodies. Seminar on Issues in Contemporary Africa, Institute of Africa Studies, Columbia University, 8 April 1998; re-presented 5 June 1998
Women Resisting. Rutgers University Hubert H. Humphrey Program 5 January 1998
Women and Health. Community Health Seminar, University of Natal Medical School, Durban, South Africa, 5-12 December 1997
Health and Human Rights. University of Natal Medical School, Durban, South Africa, 4 December 1997
Women’s Health Rights. World Federation of Public Health Associations 8th International Congress, Arusha, Tanzania, 14 October 1997
AIDS in Africa and the United States: New Paradigms of the Disease. University of Texas at El Paso, 6 March 1997
The Health of African Women. Drew University, Madison, NJ 3 March 1997
History of U.S. Immigration Policy and Law. La Unidad Latina, Rutgers University, 7 October 1996
Health, Technology and Human Rights. MIDEON Summer Institute on Human Rights, Technology and Development. Michigan State University, East Lansing, 23 May 1996
Women’s Studies Today. Douglass Reunion Class of 1965, Associate Alumnae of Douglass College, June 3, 1995
The Social Context of Malnutrition in Africa: The Somali Famine. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Cook College, 28 February 1995
The Privatization of Health Services in Africa. Zimbabwe Public Health Association, Harare, 13 July 1994
Pitfalls in Privatizing Health Care. Zimbabwe University Medical School, Harare, 8 July 1994
The Impact of Discrimination on Women’s Health and Health Care. New Jersey Commission on Sex Discrimination in the Statutes, 28 February 1994
The Social Impact of Structural Adjustment on Women in Africa. Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Boston, MA, 7 December 1993
Sex Tourism, the US Military and the Spread of Aids. Conference on the International Traffic in Bodies, Babies and Brides, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, 1 December 1993
Contraception, Fertility Control and Development. Health and Demography Institute, Program on International Cooperation in Africa, Northwestern University, 5 February 1993
Aid and Hegemony: Case Study of Somalia. Panel Discussion on the Roots of Crisis in Contemporary Africa, Rutgers College Office of Residence Life and Paul Robeson Special Interest Section, New Brunswick, 8 October 1992
USAID Assistance to AIDS in Africa. Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Subcommittee on African Affairs, Washington, D.C., 9 September 1992
Trends in Aid to African Health Care. Socialist Scholars Conference, New York, 25 April l992
Women and AIDS: An Environmental View. Hurtado Health Center, Rutgers University, 10 April l992
Women and AIDS in Africa: An Outsider’s View. Rutgers University Institute for Research on Women, 3 December 1991
Women’s Health Rights Issues. Haitian Association, Rutgers University, 2 December 1991
Women Reweaving the World: Towards a Global, Multicultural Perspective. New Jersey Project Conference, Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, N.J., 1 November 1991
Health and Medical Consequences of the Gulf War. South Jersey Campaign for Peace and Justice, Friends Meeting House, Moorestown, N.J. 3 June 1991
Diversity in the Social Science Curriculum. The Committee to Advance our Common Purposes, Rutgers University, 22 April 1991
Minority Access to Health Care. Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, Medical Grand Rounds, Camden, N.J. 18 April 1991
The Stakes in the Middle East. Educational Conference on US Intervention in the Middle East, New Brunswick, N.J. 6 April 1991
Women, AIDS and Invisibility, and Women and AIDS in Africa. Women’s Health Colloquium, New Brunswick, N.J. 25 March 1991
The Third World and the New World Order. Panel on the New World Order, Rutgers University Paul Robeson Educational Committee, 18 February 1991
The Question of AIDS in Africa. Rutgers University Paul Robeson Educational Committee, 22 October 1990
International Women’s Health Issues. SOS Conference Redefining the Issues: Reproductive Rights, Women’s Health and AIDS. Rutgers University, 13 October 1990
Le SIDA en Afrique. INSERM U. 292, Paris, France, 19 Jan. 1990
Women and Health in Africa. University of Iowa, 31 March 1989
Women and Health in Africa. Cornell University, International Studies in Planning and Institute for African Development, 10 February 1989
Population Theories and Policies. Nuffield Centre for Health Service Studies, University of Leeds, 10 December 1985
The Social Reproduction Crisis in Africa. Politics Department, Leeds University, 9 December 1985
US Anti-apartheid Movements. Leeds University Student Union, 4 December 1985
The Social Production of Health and Illness. Nuffield Centre for Health Service Studies, University of Leeds, 18 November 1985
The Political Ecology of Disease in Tanzania. Centre for Development Studies, University of Leeds, 9 October 1985
Food and Nutrition in South Africa’s Bantustans. University of Delaware, 18 April 1985
The Impact of the Women’s Movement on Health Policy. Florence Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University, 4 April 1985
La santé des travailleurs en Afrique. L’Université de Montréal Département de Démographie, 8 février 1985
The Impact of Multinational Corporations on Health in Southern Africa and the Role of US Policy. New York Academy of Sciences, 3 Oct. 1984
Critique of Epidemiology. Occupational Health Seminars, UMDNJ Rutgers Medical School, New Brunswick, 22 February 1983
Women, Food and Health in Tanzania. Research Colloquium, McGill University, Montreal, 15 October 1982
Santé et développement. Ecole polytechnique fédérale, Lausanne, Suisse, 2 July 1980
The Infant Formula Issue. Washington Labor Roundtable, Public Resource Center, Washington, D.C., 13 September 1978
Planning for Maternal and Child Health Services in Algeria. University of Michigan School of Public Health, 8 June 1977
The Political Economy of Maternal Health Services in Tanzania. University of Michigan School of Public Health, 7 June 1977
Women in Development. South Asian Seminar, Overseas Development Council, Washington, D.C., 14 December 1976
La malnutrition en Tanzanie. Pediatrics Seminar, Beni Messous University Hospital Center, Algiers, 9 October 1976
The Impact of Colonialism on the People of Tanzania. Overseas Development Council, Washington, D.C., 29 March 1976
Health Services in Tanzania. Makerere College, Kampala, Uganda, October 1973
Tanzanian Health and Nutrition Extension Services. Research and Training Institute, Ilonga, Tanzania, September 1973
Radio/TV Interviews
Regular commentator on African news, Pacifica Radio
Amnesty International, Cable TV Channel 13, Ithaca, NY 8, 9, 11 June 2004
Matthew Flintoff, BBC Radio Five Live, 9 April 2003
Mark Thompson, Make it Plain, XM Satellite Radio, 25 September 2002
Fadel Al-amen, Islamic Broadcasting Network, Washington, DC, 12 July 2001
Amy Goodman, WBAI/Pacifica, New York, NY, 12 July 2001
Elizabeth Robinson, Santa Barbara, CA, 6 June 2001
Cynthia Adams, Wisconsin Public Radio, Milwaukee, WI, 30 May 2001
Fadel Al-amen, Islamic Broadcasting Network, Washington, DC, 14 May 2001
Thouraya Ayad-Boufaroua,‘Pile et face’, Algiers, Algeria, 21 April 2001
Maureen Primerano, New Paradigms, Pacifica Radio, Redway, CA, 8 November 2000
Walter Turner, Africa Today, Pacifica Radio, 9 April 1998
Kiilu Nyasha, Pacifica Radio, 30 December 1997
Kiilu Nyasha, San Francisco Liberation Radio and Free Radio Berkeley, 10 December 1996
New Jersey Tonight: Interview on Events in Somalia, New Jersey Network TV, 9 December 1992
Women’s Health. Straight Talk, WOR-TV Channel 9, 6 August 1985
Professional Affiliations
PEN America, 2019-date
The Africa Fund (Board of Trustees, 1999-2001, elected member)
African Studies Association (Program Committee, 1992-93 appointed member; Health programming 2004, 2003)
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Public Health Association; Elected Member, International Health Section Council (1983-1985)
Association for Concerned Africa Scholars: Chair 2001-2007, Executive Board 1990-2008
Canadian Association for African Studies
Committee on Health in Southern Africa (Board member, 1997-date; Treasurer, 1998-date)
New Jersey Public Health Association
New York Academy of Sciences
West African Research Association (Dakar, Senegal)
World Federation of Public Health Associations
Professional Activities
Chair, Doctoral dissertation jury for Moritz Hunsmann, Depoliticising an epidemic – International AIDS control and the politics of health in Tanzania, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 13 June 2013
Moderator, Conference: Writing through the Visual/Virtual: Inscribing Language, Literature and Culture in Francophone Africa and the Caribbean. Rutgers University, 7-9 March 2013
Member, Advisory Board, Center for African Education, Teachers College, Columbia University 2007-2008
Rutgers University Human Rights Panel, Torture and the Body, Chair. 18 April 2007
African Studies Association, Section Chair, Expression of Power: Health Issues, 47th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 2004
African Studies Association, Section Chair, Health and Youth, 46th Annual Meeting, Boston, 2003
ACAS Panel on The Militarization of Practically Everything 19 November 2005
ACAS Panel on The Attacks on Academic Freedom, Free Speech, and Free Press, 12 November 2004
ACAS Panel on Oil, Washington, DC, December 2002
WHO International Master on Community Protection and Safety Promotion, Violence against Women, University of Padua, 30 September to 5 October 2001
National Summit on Africa, Expert Group on Sustainable Development, Quality of Life, and the Environment, Washington, DC, 16-20 February 2000
ACAS Workshop on What Policy for Africa? Philadelphia, PA, 10-11 November 1999
Trilingual Conference on Women in Postwar Transformation, Johannesburg, 20-22 July 1999, with 75 participants from 20 countries, NGOs and UN agencies
External Evaluator for the Rockefeller Foundation of the Fourth Francophone African Development Dissertation Workshop, University of Quebec at Montreal, 10-14 May 1999
Bilingual Workshop on West African Women in the Aftermath of Civil War, Dakar, 11-13 December 1998, with women from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal, and South Africa.
Guest editor of Africa-Iraq: Making the Connections Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars No 70 2005 (with Bill Martin)
Guest editor of Attacks on Academic Freedom, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars No 69 2004
Guest editor of Warri, The Niger Delta and the Nigerian State, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars No 68 2004
Guest editor of Privatizing and Militarizing Africa, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars No 66 Winter 2003/2003 (with Daniel Volman)
Guest editor of Debating Oil Development in Africa, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars No 64 Winter 2002/2003
Guest editor of Oil! Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars 60/61 Fall 2001 (reprinted in Review of African Political Economy 2002, 91:151-200)
Guest editor of Women and War, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars 55/56 Spring/Summer 1999 (with O. Alidou)
Guest editor of Health and Political Violence, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars Spring 1998 (10 articles) No. 50/51:19-24.
Guest editor of The Crisis in Nigeria, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars Winter 1998 (7 articles) No. 54.
Guest Editor of Health, and Political Violence in Africa, Bulletin of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars Winter/Spring 1995
National Summit on Africa, Expert Group on Sustainable Development, Quality of Life, and the Environment, Washington, DC, 1997-99; Midwest Summit, 24-27 September 1998, Chicago
Organized/chaired ACAS panels, Oil, 45th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association Washington, DC, 5 December 2002; Health and Political Violence, and Refugees and Intervention, 40th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Columbus. OH, 13 November 1997; Beyond Civil and Political Liberties: The New Human Rights Debates in Africa. 38th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Orlando, FL, 4 November 1995
External Juror, Ph.D. Dissertations:
Bretin, H. Femmes, contraception et inégalités sociales. Université René Descartes Paris V, 17 December 1990
Gervais, R. Population et Politiques Agricoles Coloniales dans le Mosi, 1919-1940. Université de Paris-Jussieu, 19 March 1990
Editorial Board, Journal of Public Health Policy
Editorial Board, Review of African Political Economy
Editorial Board, SIGNS
Editor, The African Environment Review of African Political Economy 1988, No. 42 (with C. Barker and P. O’Keefe)
Editor, The Health Issue, Review of African Political Economy 1986, No. 36 (with C. Barker)
Reviewer (manuscripts) for: American Historical Review, American Journal of Public Health, American Sociological Review, Canadian Journal of African Studies, Critical Sociology, Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, European Journal of Public Health, Feminist Review, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, Health & Place, Humanity and Society, International Journal of Health Services, International Migration Review, Journal of Modern African Studies, New Solutions, Review of African Political Economy, Rutgers University Press, SIGNS, Social Science & Medicine, and Tubercle and Lung Disease
Reviewer (grant proposals) for National Research Council Associateship and Fellowship Programs, CUNY Department of Political Science, Canadian Social Science Research Council, and NOW (Netherlands)