Mamasa Camara
Gates Cambridge International Scholarship
The Political Economy of Female Circumcision
Supervisor: Dr Adam Branch (Department of Politics and International Studies)
Abstract:
The smallest West African nation of the Gambia has, in recent years, become the stage for an intensive debate surrounding the practice of female circumcision as well as a great deal of change in both the practice itself and the discourses that surround it. Through feminist and postcolonial analysis as well as the historical analysis of archives, my research project offers a case-based study on the dynamics of these debates and the extent to which they are shaped by both global and local processes (like democratization, Islamic revivalism and modernization) and by the shifting dynamics of culture, gender and power. I ask the following questions: (1) What are the mechanisms of this process? (2) What regimes of rule, politics and entangled knowledge structure the field upon which female circumcision is discursively produced and negotiated and (3) How have they affected both the gendered subjectivities and lived experiences of Gambian women as well as the relations between citizens and the State?
Juliana Demartini Brito
Gates Cambridge International Scholarship
Queer Temporality in Brazil
Supervisor: Dr Lauren Wilcox (University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies)
Abstract:
My PhD research explores how Brazilian cultural production provides alternative lenses to interpret the topic of queer temporality. I bridge Brazilian social theory and queer theory to analyze performances, art, and activism that counter the current homogenizing and bleak discourse of sexuality in the country. I show how these notions have contributed to crafting new forms of belonging in the country's future. With my research, I hope to strengthen the tie between Latinx and queer studies and advance the debate on the different shapes the dialogue of queer temporality takes across cultures.
Biography:
I hold a BA with honours in Political Science and Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies from Franklin University Switzerland, as well as an MPhil in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge. My research interests lie in Latin American politics, queer theory, and decolonial approaches to gender and sexuality.
