Dr. Sylvia Bawa is an Associate Professor of Sociology at York University. Her research examines intersections of international political economy, postcolonialism, human rights and culture as well as discourses of empowerment, decolonization, human rights, culture and critical development. With a specific focus on women’s rights and empowerment in Africa, her work examines the ways in which historical forces and events shape orthodox conceptions of empowerment resulting in the production of distorted images and identities of African women in development discourse. Among others, her publications on these topics have been published in in high impact journals such as Third World Quarterly, African Identities, Qualitative Report, Development in Practice, Canadian Journal of African Studies, chapters in the International Human Rights of Women, and the Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies (Springer Major Reference Works Series). With a Ph.D. from Queen's University, Dr. Bawa is currently, the principal investigator or co-investigator on the following SSHRC-funded Partnership development projects: Research/Dissemination Network on the Canada’s Human Rights Role in Sub-Saharan Africa (CARRISSA); Confronting Atrocity: Truth Commissions, National Reconciliation and the Politics of Memory and the GMO 2.0 Partnership.
