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My book is out!

I am happy to share the news that my first book Narrative Identity and Ethics in Postcolonial Kenya: The Young Women's Christian Association has just been published by Bloomsbury. It is based on my doctoral research with the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Nairobi.

Yes, during the pandemic I wrote a book, but - important to note! - I'm middle class, white, I don't have children, and I did complete the manuscript during the last months of a postdoctoral fellowship. That isn't to say it was an easy job, but to point out that I have been very lucky compared to many early career scholars.

In the book, I give an overview of the history of the YWCA in Kenya, through which I explore the ways an African Christian women's organisation with colonial roots navigates the pressures of imperialism in international development especially as these come up in controversial ethical dilemmas. My major focus is how the YWCA works towards sexual and reproductive justice for Kenyan girls and women and resists sexist interpretations of Christianity.

I argue that the YWCA's narratives of its Christian history sustain a link between its ethical perspective and its identity. The ethical insights that emerge from these narrative practices proclaim the relevance of the biblical value of 'fulfilled lives' for Christian women. I discuss this under the heading of 'everyday Christian ethics', drawing on anthropological and theological approaches to thinking about ethics as lived out in the everyday life of an organisation.

On the front cover is a detail of a painting by one of my favourite artists, Wangechi Mutu, who is from Kenya. The original work is called Forbidden Fruit Picker - depicting an African Eve confronted by a two-headed snake as she reaches for the fruit.


I am very pleased that the book has received glowing endorsements from Esther Mombo, whose work I admire greatly, as well as Adriaan van Klinken, Theron Ford, and Paul Kollman.

Eleanor is pictured at her desk, pretending to read her book.

I have 2 physical copies of the book that I would love to give away to YWCA folks, graduate students, or early career scholars. Please email me if you're interested.

Alternatively, if you are a millionaire or work for a university library, please purchase a copy here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/narrative-identity-and-ethics-in-postcolonial-kenya-9781350129801/

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