Portfolio:

Original Research

 


Dissertation

Defended with Distinction

Patriarchy, Christianity, and the African AIDS Pandemic:

Rethinking Christian Marriage in Light of the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania


Committee: Susan A. Ross (Director), Aana Marie Vigen, Patricia Beattie Jung


ABSTRACT
Given that women and girls carry the heaviest burdens of the African AIDS pandemic, their lived experiences should be the starting point for any pedagogy of prevention. In light of this claim, my dissertation project uses qualitative fieldwork with women living in the Lake Victoria basin of Tanzania to analyze the ways in which faith-based prevention methods, focusing primarily on abstinence and faithfulness, help or harm women. It is well established that in sub-Saharan Africa, marriage is an HIV/AIDS risk factor for women. Yet churches and faith-based organizations still preach abstinence and faithfulness, and in doing so create the illusion of marriage as a safe space. In order to effectively work toward prevention, problems with the way marriage is practiced must also be addressed. By beginning with women’s experience as a hermeneutical lens for interpreting scripture and tradition, this dissertation seeks to establish a creative space where African women can re-imagine marriage in ways that would promote human flourishing and health in African communities. By drawing on the unwritten texts of women’s lives, this study is contributing to the wider interdisciplinary and theo-ethical discourse on HIV/AIDS prevention, relationality, and women’s health. At the same time, it is also making a local impact of equal importance as HIV positive women in Mwaza, Tanzania are being invited to think creatively about ways to prevent HIV/AIDS and ways to make marriage a safe space for women.


Philosophy of Research Statement

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Presentations and publications on research Methods

  1. •Researching Religion in Postcolonial Space, African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) Meeting at the American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, October 30-Nov 2, 2010 (forthcoming).

  2. •Gearing Up: Getting Started in Fieldwork, panel presentation with Aana Marie Vigen and Rev. Dr. Christian A.B. Scharen, Society of Christian Ethics, Chicago, IL, January 8-11, 2009.

  3. •Faith-based Public Health in East Africa, Theology and Ethnography Consultation, Sponsored by Emory University's Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, March 4, 2009.

  4. •Ethnographic Fieldwork and Ethics, Short presentation at the inaugural meeting of the “Fieldwork and Ethics” interest group, Society of Christian Ethics, January 3, 2008.



Research Related Service to the academy

  1. •Co-chair - Ethnography and Ethics Interest Group, Society of Christian Ethics, 2008-Present.

  2. •Mentor - Loyola University Chicago Graduate/Undergraduate Research Program, 2009.

  3. •Mentor - Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Student Inquiry and Research Program - Directed a high school student research project entitled, “Homosexuality and the Catholic Church,” 2007-2008.


Completed Ethnographic Research and Resulting PResentations and Publications

Mwanza, Tanzania

Oct. 2009-May 2010 - Women’s agency and the African AIDS pandemic

Affiliations: Diocese of Victoria Nyanza (Anglican Church Tanzania) and

Saint Augustine University Tanzania


  1. •Description: Dissertation research with HIV positive women exploring marriage as an HIV/AIDS risk factor

  2. •Research Methods: Participatory Action Research, Qualitative Interviews, Observation 

  3. •Resulting Presentations and Publications:


  1. •When Marriage Becomes Risky: A Theo-ethical Reflection on Christian Marriage in Light of the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, Society of Christian Ethics, New Orleans, LA, Jan. 8, 2011.

  2. •Confidentiality, Stigma and Risk: Listening to the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, Stritch School of Medicine Ethics Grand Rounds, Loyola University Chicago, Dec. 9, 2010.

  3. •Confidentiality, Stigma and Risk: Listening to the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, Emory University Center for Ethics, Dec. 6, 2010.

  4. •Women’s Agency and the African AIDS Pandemic: Reflections on Gender and Sacrifice by HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, Oct. 31, 2010.

  5. •Risking Life So That Life Will Go On: Understanding relational poverty and health in intimate relationships through the experiences of HIV positive women in Tanzania, Politics, Poverty and Prayer Conference: Global African Spiritualities and Social Transformation, Nairobi, Kenya, July 24, 2010.

  6. •Nature or Nurture? A theo-ethical evaluation of behavior-based vs. environmental approaches to preventing HIV and AIDS in East Africa, African Association for the Study of Religions, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Jan. 20, 2010.

  7. •Journal article under review: “Trading Sex for Fish: Women's forced choices and faith along the shores of Lake Victoria in Tanzania”

  8. •Journal article under review: “When Marriage Becomes Risky: A Theo-ethical reflection on Christian marriage in light of the experiences of HIV positive women in Tanzania”


Mai Mahiu, Kenya

June-July 2009 - Reflections on post-election violence from IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps

Affiliation: Maryknoll Institute of African Studies, Loyola University Chicago


  1. •Description: Research completed as part of the "Global Feminist Theologies in Postcolonial Space" project

  2. •Research Methods: Qualitative Interviews, Observation 

  3. •Resulting Presentations and Publications:


  1. •Practicing Postcolonial Feminist Theology Cross-culturally: A Reflection on the Exploring Global Feminist Theologies Pedagogy Project, with Damaris Parsitau, African Association for the Study of Religions, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, January 17-22, 2010.

  2. •“Listening to Experience, Looking Towards Flourishing: Ethnography as a Global Feminist Theo/ethical Praxis” (article and film) with Edith Chamwama, Eunice Kamaara, Sussy Gumo Kurgat, Damaris Parsitau, Emily Reimer-Barry, Elisabeth Vasko, and Jeanine Viau, Practical Matters, Issue 3, Spring 2010.


Chicago, IL

March-May 2009 - Reflections on faith-based abstinence education by college students and young adults

Affiliation: Loyola University Chicago


  1. •Description: Site-based research with a abstinence education dance and drama team in Chicago, IL

  2. •Research Methods: Qualitative Interviews, Observation at dance/drama performances and practices

  3. •Resulting Presentations and Publications:


  1. •“Acting out Abstinence, Acting out Gender: Adolescent moral agency and abstinence education,” Theology and Sexuality, Vol. 16.2, 2011: 141-159.

  2. •Acting out Abstinence, Acting out Gender: Limits on adolescent moral agency in abstinence-only education, National Women's Studies Association, Denver, CO, November 11-14, 2010.


Nairobi, Kenya

Jan-April 2004 - Urban refugees and Christian ethics

Affiliation: Maryknoll Institute of African Studies


  1. •Description: Research with urban refugees (primarily women and children) living in Nairobi, Kenya

  2. •Research Methods: Qualitative Interviews, Observation, Visits with refugee service agencies  


Nairobi, Kenya

June 2001 - Street children and religious beliefs

Affiliation: Maryknoll Institute of African Studies


  1. •Description: Research with street children and NGO workers working with street children in Nairobi, Kenya

  2. •Research Methods: Qualitative Interviews, Observation, Visits to organizations working with street children  

  3. •Resulting Presentations and Publications:


  1. •“Morality on the Streets: An Examination of the Beliefs and Moral Practice of Street Children in Light of Christianity and African Traditional Religions,” in Ethnography as Christian Theology and Ethics, Christian Scharen & Aana Marie Vigen, eds. Continuum, 2011.

  2. •Morality on the Streets: An Examination of the Beliefs and Moral Practice of Street Children in Light of Christianity and African Traditional Religions, Loyola-Marquette Colloquium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 27, 2007.