Professor Diana Jeater DPhil (Oxon); FRHistS

Personal Statement

After a mis-spent youth listening to too much reggae music, I stumbled into African studies just as Zimbabwe gained its independence and became one of the most exciting places on the planet. So for the past thirty years I've been developing an expertise in Zimbabwean history. My interests are eclectic but have always focused on challenging the narratives of the Global North and trying to represent the past in terms that are true to Zimbabwean perspectives. I've published on sex and sexuality, religion & belief, language and translation, law and jurisprudence, health and healing, citizenship and rights, witchcraft and politics.
It's impossible to work on these issues without coming up against big social and political issues. So I'm engaged with asylum seekers and sanctuary campaigns, as well as using every possible opportunity to ask 'Why is the curriculum so white?'