Conference – Mutiat Titilope Oladejo

On the 28th of February, Mutiat Dr Titilope Oladejo, in a conversation with Dr Seun Olutayo, presented her recent work on the role of women in the textile industry in Nigeria and The Gambia since the thirties. Dr Oladejo’s work is derived from fieldwork from Nigeria and The Gambia, where she tried to understand the textile industry in indigenous and modern forms through oral interviews, ethnographic work, and field observations. Specifically, Dr Oladejo presentation focused on her work in southwest Nigeria and Latrikunda in The Gambia.

The presentation put emphasis on the historical process in the colonial era that tampered with the gendered dynamics of work as it were in the precolonial era. Using Ester Boserup’s framework of women in economic development of developing countries, Dr Oladejo’s work deviates from the criticisms of how gender dynamics is misconstrued to examine how women made meaning of livelihood in textile art, fashion and commerce. A recording of the event is available on our Facebook page.