{{short description|Nigerian-American academic}} {{Infobox academic | name = Abosede George | birth_name = Abosede Ajibike George | alma_mater = Rutgers University{{br}}Stanford University | work_institutions = Barnard College | awards = Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize, African Studies Association Women's Caucus, 2015; 2019 Paula J. Giddings Best Article Award | website = {{URL|https://barnard.edu/profiles/abosede-george}} | image = Abosede George.jpg | alt = Abosede George | caption = | thesis_title = Gender and Juvenile Justice: Girl Hawkers in Lagos 1925-1950 | academic_advisors = Richard Roberts }} '''Abosede George''' is the Tow Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Barnard College and Columbia University in New York, where she is also the Director of its Institute of African Studies.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Abosede George {{!}} Barnard History |url=https://history.barnard.edu/profiles/abosede-george |access-date=2020-01-15 |website=history.barnard.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet Our New Director: Prof. Abosede George {{!}} Institute of African Studies |url=https://ias.columbia.edu/news/meet-our-new-director-prof-abosede-george |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=ias.columbia.edu}}</ref> She teaches courses on African migrations, historical mapping, urban history, African history, childhood and youth studies, girl studies, women's studies, and migration studies,<ref name=":0" /> gender and sexuality in African History. She is the incumbent President of the Nigerian Studies Association, an affiliate organization of the African Studies Association.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nigerianstudiesassociation.org/2016-2019|title=Current Executive Board|last=|first=|date=|website=Nigerian Studies Association|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115235916/https://www.nigerianstudiesassociation.org/2016-2019 |archive-date=2020-01-15 |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref>

Her book, ''Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor, and Social Development'' was published in 2014 by Ohio University Press and received the Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize in 2015 from the Women’s Caucus of the African Studies Association, as well as Honorable Mention from the New York African Studies Association.

== Background ==

Abosede George obtained her B.A. in history from Rutgers University in 1999. She proceeded to Stanford University where she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history in 2002 and 2006 respectively.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://worldhistory.columbia.edu/content/abosede-george|title=Abosede George {{!}} MA/MSc in International and World History|website=worldhistory.columbia.edu|access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref>

== Career == George began her teaching career in 2003 at Stanford University as a Teaching Fellow. In 2006, she moved to Trinity College as an assistant professor of history and international studies. George joined the faculty of Barnard College and Columbia University in 2007.<ref name=":0" /> Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of African urban history, history of childhood and youth in Africa, and women, gender, and sexuality in African History.<ref name=":0" /> From January to May 2011, she was a visiting assistant professor at her alma mater, Rutgers College – Rutgers University.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sas.rutgers.edu/news-a-events/news/newsroom/faculty/1084-post-doctoral-and-new-faculty-fellows-enrich-research-and-teaching|title=Post-Doctoral and New Faculty Fellows Enrich Research and Teaching|last=Witek|first=Anna|website=Rutgers University, School of Arts and Sciences|language=en-gb|access-date=2020-01-17}}</ref> In the Fall of 2022, George was admitted as a Fellow in Residence at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in Amsterdam for her project, "Migrants and the Making of Urban Culture in Nineteenth Century Lagos."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abosede A. George |url=https://nias.knaw.nl/fellow/29464/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study - NIAS |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Professor Abosede George Becomes a 2022-2023 Fellow in Residence at the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies in Amsterdam |url=https://barnard.edu/news/professor-abosede-george-becomes-2022-2023-fellow-residence-netherlands-institute-advanced |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Barnard College |language=en}}</ref>

George has published widely on subjects such as girlhood in African/colonial cities, urbanism and social reform in colonial Africa, among others. Her articles have appeared in several first-tier, peer-reviewed academic journals, including the ''Journal of Social History'', ''Women’s Studies Quarterly'', and the ''Scholar and Feminist Online''. George was one of the seven historians engaged in the ''AHR'' Conversation themed “Each Generation Writes Its Own History of Generations”.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=George|first1=Abosede|last2=Glaser|first2=Clive|last3=Jacobs|first3=Margaret D.|last4=Joshi|first4=Chitra|last5=Marker|first5=Emily|last6=Walsham|first6=Alexandra|last7=Zheng|first7=Wang|last8=Weisbrod|first8=Bernd|date=2018-12-01|title=AHR Conversation: Each Generation Writes Its Own History of Generations|journal=The American Historical Review|language=en|volume=123|issue=5|pages=1505–1546|doi=10.1093/ahr/rhy389|issn=0002-8762|doi-access=free}}</ref> Her book, ''Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor, and Social Development'', which was published in 2014, won her the 2015 Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize as the best scholarly book.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.asawomenscaucus.com/post/2015-aidoo-snyder-book-prize-for-scholarly-work|title=2015 Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize for Scholarly Work|last=|first=|date=May 7, 2018|website=asawomenscaucus|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115225318/https://www.asawomenscaucus.com/post/2015-aidoo-snyder-book-prize-for-scholarly-work |archive-date=2020-01-15 |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref> Lately, she won the 2019 Paula J. Giddings Best Article Award for her article "Saving Nigerian Girls: A Critical Reflection on Girl-Saving C[11]ampaigns in the Colonial and Neoliberal Eras".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://sophia.smith.edu/meridians/paula-j-giddings-best-article-award/2019-best-article-recipient/|title=2019 Best Article Recipient – Meridians|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-17|archive-date=2020-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810091810/https://sophia.smith.edu/meridians/paula-j-giddings-best-article-award/2019-best-article-recipient/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Her publications have appeared in the ''American Historical Review'', the ''Journal of Social History'', ''Comparative Studies in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East'', ''Meridians'', ''Women’s Studies Quarterly'', the ''Journal of West African History'', and the ''Washington Post'' among other outlets.<ref>{{Cite news |last=George |first=Abosede |date=2020-10-25 |title=Perspective {{!}} The roots of the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/10/25/roots-endsars-protests-nigeria/ |access-date=2025-12-24 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> She is the founder of The Ekopolitan Project, a digital forum dedicated to historical research on migrant communities in nineteenth- and twentieth century Lagos, West Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the team – The Ekopolitan Project |url=https://ekopolitanproject.org/about-the-team/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>

George maintains faculty affiliations with the Africana Studies Program at Barnard, the Institute for African Studies at Columbia (IAS), the Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW), and the Center for the Critical Analysis of Social Difference (CCASD).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heymancenter.org/people/abosede-george/|title=People {{!}} Abosede George {{!}} The Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University|website=heymancenter.org|access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref> She is a member of the following professional organizations: African Studies Association, Society for the History of Childhood and Youth, and Nigerian Studies Association where she is the current President.<ref name=":0" /> She is equally a member of the Board of Directors of the Lagos Studies Association, of which, together with Saheed Aderinto and Ademide Adelusi-Adeluyi, she is a foundation member.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lagosstudies.wcu.edu/?page_id=158|title=Board of Directors and Committees|date=2017-03-23|website=Lagos Studies Association|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref>

Beyond academia, Abosede George has undertaken a number of creative, historical projects. For instance, the 2018 Lagos Photo Festival featured George's audio piece project which reworks the archives of a court case from the late 1800s in Lagos, Nigeria. An audio booth was provided in which visitors would sit in and listen to the trial and testimonies from the court case ''Ayebomi vs. Regina''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ekopolitanproject.org/lagos-photo-festival/|title=Lagos Photo Festival|website=The Ekopolitan Project {{!}} Migrant Histories and Family Genealogies from 19th and 20th Century Lagos|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-17}}</ref> The work received coverage by Vogue Italia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vogue.it/en/photography/news/2018/10/25/lagosphoto-festival-2018/|title=LagosPhoto Festival 2018|date=2018-10-25|website=Vogue.it|language=en|access-date=2020-01-17}}</ref>

== Selected publications == *{{Cite journal |last=George |first=Abosede |date=2021-09-01 |title=Brazilian-Style Architecture and Lagosian Modernity |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/jwah/article/7/2/115/294073/Brazilian-Style-Architecture-and-Lagosian |journal=Journal of West African History |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=115–132 |doi=10.2307/48642061 |issn=2327-1868|url-access=subscription }} *{{Cite journal|last=George|first=Abosede|date=2018-12-01|title=IntroductionThe Imaginative Capital of Lagos|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/cssaame/article-abstract/38/3/439/137144/IntroductionThe-Imaginative-Capital-of-Lagos|journal=Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East|language=en|volume=38|issue=3|pages=439–442|doi=10.1215/1089201x-7208779|issn=1089-201X|url-access=subscription}} *{{Cite journal |last=George |first=Abosede |last2=Glaser |first2=Clive |last3=Jacobs |first3=Margaret D. |last4=Joshi |first4=Chitra |last5=Marker |first5=Emily |last6=Walsham |first6=Alexandra |last7=Zheng |first7=Wang |last8=Weisbrod |first8=Bernd |date=2018-12-01 |title=''AHR'' Conversation: Each Generation Writes Its Own History of Generations |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhy389 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=123 |issue=5 |pages=1505–1546 |doi=10.1093/ahr/rhy389 |issn=0002-8762}} *{{Cite journal|last=George|first=Abosede|date=2018-11-01|title=Saving Nigerian GirlsA Critical Reflection on Girl-Saving Campaigns in the Colonial and Neoliberal Eras|journal=Meridians|language=en|volume=17|issue=2|pages=309–324|doi=10.1215/15366936-7176461|s2cid=85536005|issn=1536-6936}} Winner of the 2019 Paula J. Giddings Best Article Award.<ref name=":4" /> *{{Cite journal|last=George|first=Abosede|date=2017|title=A Philosopher with a Plan: Reflections on Ifi Amadiume's Male Daughters, Female Husbands|journal=Journal of West African History|volume=3|issue=2|pages=124–130|doi=10.14321/jwestafrihist.3.2.0124|jstor=10.14321/jwestafrihist.3.2.0124|s2cid=158335674}} *{{Cite journal|last1=Field|first1=Corinne T.|last2=Owens|first2=Tammy-Charelle|last3=Chatelain|first3=Marcia|last4=Simmons|first4=Lakisha|last5=George|first5=Abosede|last6=Keyse|first6=Rhian|date=2016|title=The History of Black Girlhood: Recent Innovations and Future Directions|journal=The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth|language=en|volume=9|issue=3|pages=383–401|doi=10.1353/hcy.2016.0067|s2cid=151491585|issn=1941-3599}} *{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmDGBAAAQBAJ |title=Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor, and Social Development in ... – Abosede A. George – Google Books |date=2014-11-15 |accessdate=2020-01-16|isbn=9780821445013 |last1=George |first1=Abosede A. }} Winner of the 2015 Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize of the African Studies Association Women's Caucus.<ref name=":2" /> *George, Abosede (2013), “Getting the Hang of It,” ''Scholar and Feminist Online: Gender, Justice, and Neoliberal Transformations,'' 11, nos. 1&2.<ref>{{cite web|last=George |first=Abosede A. |url=http://sfonline.barnard.edu/gender-justice-and-neoliberal-transformations/getting-the-hang-of-it |title=Getting the Hang of It |publisher=Sfonline.barnard.edu |date= |accessdate=2020-01-16}}</ref> *{{cite journal |date=2011 |jstor = 41305383|title = Within Salvation: Girl Hawkers and the Colonial State in Development Era Lagos|journal = Journal of Social History|volume = 44|issue = 3|pages = 837–859|last1 = George|first1 = Abosede|doi = 10.1353/jsh.2011.0034|pmid = 21853619|s2cid = 639541}} *{{Cite journal |last=George |first=Abosede A. |date=2007 |title=Feminist Activism and Class Politics: The Example of the Lagos Girl Hawker Project |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27649700 |journal=Women's Studies Quarterly |volume=35 |issue=3/4 |pages=128–143 |issn=0732-1562}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Abosede}} Category:Living people Category:Nigerian academics Category:21st-century Nigerian historians Category:Barnard College faculty Category:Columbia University faculty Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Rutgers University alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people)