Patricia McFadden (born 1952) is a radical African feminist, sociologist, writer, educator, and publisher from
eSwatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
.
[Spelman College: Cosby Chairs]
She is also an activist and scholar who worked in the
anti-apartheid movement
The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...
for more than 20 years.
McFadden has worked in the African and global women’s movements as well. As a writer, she has been the target of political persecution.
She has worked as editor of the ''Southern African Feminist Review'' and ''African Feminist Perspectives''. She currently teaches, and advocates internationally for women's issues.
McFadden has served as a professor at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
,
Spelman College
Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...
,
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
She also works as a "feminist consultant", supporting women in creating institutionally sustainable feminist spaces within Southern Africa.
Personal life
She attended the
University of Botswana and Swaziland studying politics and administration, with economics and sociology as minors.
She then went to the
University of Dar es Salaam
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...
for a master's degree in sociology.
She received her PhD from
Warwick University
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1987.
Career
She worked as a program officer in the Southern African Regional Institute for Policy Studies (SARIPS) in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, from 1993 to 2005.
She worked as editor of the ''Southern African Feminist Review'' from 1995 to 2000. She served as international dean at the International Women’s University (IFU) from 1998 to 2000 in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
.
She also taught in the Masters in Social Policy (MPS) program offered by SARIPS for the past seven years. She was an adjunct professor at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
Study Abroad program in Zimbabwe and then later at the parent location in Syracuse New York as a faculty member in the
Department of African American Studies.
Work
As a writer, McFadden’s main areas of intellectual inquiry are: sexuality, reproductive and sexual health, and identity, violation and citizenship for African women.
She has presented numerous papers at universities, conferences and seminars internationally in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Namibia, South Africa, Ghana, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Brazil, China, Germany, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and others.
Publications
Essays
*"Becoming Postcolonial: African Women Changing the Meaning of Citizenship" - 2005.
*"Challenging HIV and AIDS: Resistance and Advocacy in the Lives of Black Women in Southern Africa"
*"War Through a Feminist Lens"
*"Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Positioning Feminism in the ‘Africa Debate,’ and ‘Patriarchy'"
*"Sexuality and Globalization"
Books
*"Gender in Southern Africa: A Gendered Perspective" (Sapes Books)- 1998
*"Reflections on Gender Issues in Africa" (Sapes Books) - 1999
*"Reconceptualizing the Family in a Changing Southern African Environment" with Sara C. Mvududu (Africa Institute of South Africa), 2001.
Awards
* Hellman/Hammett Human Rights Award (
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
)- 1999
* Keynote speaker at AFEMS 2019,
at
University of the Witswatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Patricia
Living people
University of Botswana and Swaziland alumni
University of Dar es Salaam alumni
Alumni of the University of Warwick
Cornell University faculty
Feminist philosophers
Syracuse University faculty
Spelman College faculty
Smith College faculty
Swazi activists
Swazi women activists
Swazi feminists
Swazi human rights activists
Swazi women writers
1952 births
Postmodern feminists
Black studies scholars
Women sociologists
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
American women non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers