Rachel Jean-Baptiste

Assistant Professor of African History
Ph.D. Stanford University 2005

FIELD SPECIALTIES

Central Africa; history of women, sexuality, and gender; urban history; customary and modern law; post-colonial social and cultural history.

BIOGRAPHY

Research

I am a historian of Africa who specializes in the social, cultural, and political history of Central Africa. My current research interests include gender, sexuality, urban history, colonialism and the law in twentieth century Gabon. I am working on a manuscript entitled A Free Town: Marriage and Sex in Twentieth Century Libreville, Gabon. The manuscript examines contestations over conjugal and sexual relationships in Libreville to understand transformations in gender roles, social status, and political authority in the emerging urban locale. My other research projects on Gabon include interracial sex and métissage, as well as a project on the codification of customary law. I am also interested in African diaspora studies, currently researching the politics of tourism and slave trade history in Ouidah, Benin.

Teaching

My teaching interests cross time and space in Africa. Undergraduate courses include a survey of modern African history, and courses on urban history, as well as African women's history. Graduate course offerings include history of sexuality in Africa , gender and colonialism, history of Central Africa, and Africa, the Atlantic World and slavery.

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PUBLICATIONS

"'The Option of the Judicial Path:' Disputes over Marriage, Divorce, and Extra-Marital Sex in Colonial Courts in Libreville, Gabon (1939-1959)." Cahiers d'études africaines, Volume 187-188, 2007.

"'These Laws Should Be Made by Us:' Contesting Customary Law and Codification in Twentieth Century Colonial Gabon." Journal of African History, forthcoming 2008.

Under Review

"'A Black Girl Should Not Be with a White Man:' Sex, Race, and African Women's Socio-Legal Status in Colonial Gabon"

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