Constanze Weise, associate professor of history at ETSU, spoke at the March 3 “Women on Wednesdays” event hosted by the ETSU Women’s Studies Program.
Weise’s lecture focused on women’s roles and authority in pre-colonial West Africa and the changes that colonialism brought about.
Her research has a focus on politics and religion within Central Nigeria, focusing in on the ethnic groups located in the Niger-Benue confluence.
The lecture highlighted the Nupe, Yoruba and Eriba ethnic groups.
“Her works have appeared in peer-reviewed journals; in edited collections dedicated to African history, African art history, linguistics and ethnohistory,” said Phyllis Thompson, director of the ETSU Women’s Studies Program. “Her ethnohistorical films of religious masquerades in Nigeria have been shown internationally as well as in the United States.”
Weise opened with a discussion of the background and importance of the central Nigerian region.
Prior to the 1970s, not much was written about women in African history, and what was written was written by men. By the 1980s, the study of women in African history began to flourish.
She went on to discuss a general introduction to African women in pre-colonial times, women in pre-colonial Islamic regions, women in African traditional religions and the effect of colonialism on women’s roles within religious and political institutions.
After her talk, she received questions about her time creating films in West Africa and whether she faced difficulties with the filming process.
“Being an outsider, and not being British, definitely helped me,” said Weise. “Because I’m German, a lot of the people wanted to have the traditional religions documented, which allowed me to make those films.”
She screened one of her films during the talk.
The next “Women on Wednesdays” will be Beth Skinner who will be giving a behind-the-scenes tour of the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts.
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