African Studies Association Women's Caucus

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The 2023 Book Prize for scholarly work was won by Judith Byfield’s THE GREAT UPHEAVAL: WOMEN AND NATION IN POSTWAR NIGERIA (Ohio University Press, 2022). This book was chosen because it highlights the ways that women were central to the nation-building process in Nigeria. With a close focus on Abeokuta – and an impressive re-envisioning of the history of Abeokuta that demonstrates the critical work of women – the book finds a way to center women’s work and women’s voices in what has too often been assumed to be a male-only domain. In so doing, it forces us to reassess what we think we know about political, economic, and social institutions in Nigeria. The extensive and meticulous research that underpins the book allows Byfield to not only connect the political history of Abeokuta to that of Nigeria but also to international movements, all the while following the constant thread of women’s political advocacy and engagement in making that history. Byfield deftly challenges dominant history on the making of nations by presenting a herstory of women's diverse and important roles in the political landscape of modern Nigeria, itself a very important nation in terms of its political weight on the continent and well beyond.

 

The Great Upheaval follows the history of Abeokuta from its founding and the profound sense of its founders that it was a nation in its own right, expressed through the Egba United Government. Although their power was often contested, women – as traders, as teachers, as missionaries – helped shape this nascent nation and sought to build it as a model for others to emulate. As Abeokuta came under increasingly direct colonial control by the British, tensions around taxation and women’s authority came to the fore. It was in part out of these tensions that the Abeokuta Women’s Union grew, which in turn led to the creation of the Nigerian Women’s Union, at a meeting in Abeokuta. Following this history through World War II and the late years of colonial rule, Byfield shows how women’s early experiences helped shape their later political activism, drawing inspiration from female leaders to do so. The Great Upheaval has wide-reaching implications for how we frame political history, a space conventionally dominated by men, through careful research and sharp analysis. It demonstrates the power of looking beyond the surface and centering voices and perspectives that typically get ignored or downplayed. It is also a pleasure to read. 

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The Committee recognized with Honorable Mention Laura Ann Twagira's, Embodied Engineering: Gendered Labor, Food Security, and Taste in Twentieth-Century Mali (Ohio University Press, 2021).

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In the 2024 cycle, the Aidoo-Snyder Prize will be awarded for the best creative book written by a woman (or women) that prioritizes African women’s experiences. To this end, the committee invites nominations from publishers or authors. Self-published books are not eligible, and entries may only be submitted for consideration once. The prize is open to authors who have published books in English and English translation in the two years preceding the award year. The books must significantly deal with Africa (including Cape Verde, and the Islands off the West Coast of Africa; Madagascar; and the Indian Ocean Islands of the East African Coast). 

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The application form for the 2024 round is available here.

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