Description
Book SynopsisCommon narratives about development in Africa miss the critical technological work of women. Twagira’s study instead positions Malian women as rural engineers whose strategic planning and labor over the course of the twentieth century assured their food security.
Trade Review“Through vivid stories of individual innovation and strategies of survival, Twagira offers a new perspective on twentieth-century biopolitics in Mali.
Embodied Engineering adds important critical nuance to understandings of environmental crisis, cultural value, and gendered knowledge production in West Africa.”
“By focusing on gender ideology, food technologies, and development initiatives, Twagira encourages readers to consider the “lived material bodies” of women in twentieth-century rural Mali…. Summing up: Recommended.” * Choice 59, no. 10 (June 2022) *
“A fantastic contribution to multiple fields of study, both within and beyond the academy. Twagira fulfills her stated objectives, particularly that of addressing the prevalent assumptions of African women as without access to technology and static in their work. Her research shows the immense agency and importance of Malian women in their capacity to cultivate embodied relationships with the natural world through the cultivation, collection, and cooking of food.” * H-Sci-Med-Tech / H-Net Reviews *
