Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2009
Traces the roots of Yoruba women's stature and influence
"Based on a careful reading of the existing scholarship on Yoruba women, this will be an important text for scholars in Yoruba studies, African studies, and especially women's and gender studies." —Judith Byfield, Cornell University
"An important contribution to knowledge about women and the relations of gender in Yorubaland and other African societies." —Philomena Okek-Ihejirika, University of Alberta, Edmonton
". . . well researched and based on a vast array of sources, such as missionary accounts, records of native courts, British colonial office documents, newspapers, diaries, letters, and financial accounts of Yoruba women as well as oral histories and interviews. The work is nicely written, clearly discussing the author's themes of gender and patriarchy, women and colonialism, and female agency in Yorubaland. It is a welcome addition to texts on gender history in Africa as well as West African history." —Cyrelene Amoah, Southern Illinois University, H-Women, H-Net , April 2009
"Clearly written and cogently argued, this book is the first comprehensive survey of Yoruba women's lives from the precolonial period until independence. . . . A major contribution to Nigerian and African women's history, this book should be included in all college and university libraries. . . . Highly recommended." —Choice , September 2009
"[This] book provides highly interesting insights into Yoruba history and culture, including the effects of slave trade and colonialism, the arrival of Islam and Christianity, changes through the introduction of British legal system, and Western schooling. . . . a good read for anybody interested in African culture, history, or women's roles." —MISSIOLOGY: Intnl Review , #41 April 2009
The Yoruba, one of the largest and most historically important ethnic groups in Nigeria, are noted for the economic activity, confidence, and authority of their women. Yoruba Women, Work, and Social Change traces the history of women in Yorubaland from around 1820 to 1960 and Nigerian independence. Integrating fresh material from local court records and four decades of existing scholarship, Marjorie Keniston McIntosh shows how and why women's roles and status changed during the 19th century and the colonial era. McIntosh emphasizes connections between their duties within the household, their income-generating work, and their responsibilities in religious, cultural, social, and political contexts. She highlights the forms of patriarchy found within Yorubaland and explores the impact of Christianity, colonialism, and international capitalism. This keen and insightful work offers a unique view of Yoruba women's initiative, adaptability, and skill at working in groups.
Marjorie Keniston McIntosh is Distinguished Professor of History Emerita at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her work on Africa includes Women, Work, and Domestic Virtue in Uganda, 1900–2003, written with Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo, which received the 2007 Aidoo-Snyder Prize awarded by the Women’s Caucus of the African Studies Association. She is also author of Working Women in English Society, 1300–1620 and Controlling Misbehavior in England,1370–1600.
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