Please tell us about your research project.
I am a PhD student at the Université de Paris. My research focuses on female education in Tanzania in the late colonial and early postcolonial periods. I am looking at the various models of education that were developed for girls and women, both within and out of schools. Beyond policies, I am analysing girls’ and women’s educational experiences and trajectories. By discussing female education, I am addressing wider issues on women’s place in Tanzanian colonial and postcolonial society and the building of a nation-state.
Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
I benefitted from the programme “Boursier du Mois” which allowed me to live one month in the MFO since I needed to go to Oxford for archival work: the Weston Library has wonderful archival documentation on the history of the Commonwealth. I was thus able to read various papers deposited by colonial officers and missionaries which give very vivid descriptions of various educational programs led in Tanganyika/Tanzania.
First impressions of Oxford/the University?
Oxford is a very pleasant place to live and study. Beyond the setting that is unique in itself, the university's resources are all the most unique as well, especially for people interested in British colonial history or, more largely, in countries that have been part of the British Empire.