{"id":204,"date":"2012-03-27T12:06:21","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T16:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/?page_id=204"},"modified":"2012-05-12T11:16:02","modified_gmt":"2012-05-12T15:16:02","slug":"lgtb-rights-career-biography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/lgtb-rights-career-biography\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Biography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristen E. Cheney, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.iss.nl\/iss_faculty\/profiel_metis\/1115144\/\"<\/a>
\nKristen Cheney is an Anthropology professor who has worked in Uganda for many years.\u00a0 We chose this Anthropologist for her in-depth understanding of Ugandan culture, and her comprehensive perspective on homosexuality in Uganda.\u00a0 She has written a very detailed article entitled \u201cLocating Neocolonialism, \u2018Tradition\u2019, and Human Rights in Uganda\u2019s \u2018Gay Death Penalty\u2019\u201d which will be published in the African Studies Review.<\/em><\/p>\n


\nDifferent Angles:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Kristen Cheney provided me with that I did not find in the news sources were the following opinions:<\/p>\n

Uganda claims to want a culture of human rights, which is evidenced by the rather progressive rights they grant women, children, and the disabled.\u00a0 However, they have developed a culture of \u201cexceptionalism\u201d when it comes to homosexuals, explaining Ugandans allow some groups rights, and deny others those same rights.<\/p>\n

The financial aid foreign powers are threatening to take away can be seen as a positive alternative to globalization, pressuring Uganda to grant homosexuals rights.\u00a0 However, by examining it further, the issue becomes more complex.\u00a0 The aid can be construed as \u201cself-serving\u201d because it looks good for the donors, continuing on to claim they may be using human rights as an excuse for their own motives.<\/p>\n

Homosexuality can also be considered a scapegoat for \u201cbroader\u201d and more \u201curgent\u201d problems in Uganda (the rising HIV rate for example).<\/p>\n

Current Employment<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Senior Lecturer at Erasmus University Rotterdam, International Institute of Social Studies (The Hague, Netherlands)
\n\u2022\u00a0 Advisory Board Chair for the American Anthropological Association Anthropology of Children and Childhood Interest Group<\/p>\n

Past Employment<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Dayton
\n\u2022\u00a0 Lecturer at Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz
\n\u2022\u00a0 Communications Consultant at Firelight Foundation for African AIDS Orphans<\/p>\n

Education<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
\n\u2022\u00a0 M.A. in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
\n\u2022\u00a0 B.A. in Anthropology\/Professional Writing, Albion College<\/p>\n

Research Interests<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>
\nCheney studies children\u2019s survival strategies when faced with adversity in Eastern and Southern Africa.\u00a0 More generally, she focuses on children while still acknowledging the importance of government, industry, and family and how these affect children\u2019s choices.<\/p>\n

Awards and Accomplishments<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 2008-9: Fulbright Africa Regional Research Scholar to study children whose parents died of AIDS.
\n\u2022\u00a0 2007: She co-founded the Anthropology of Children and Childhood Interest Group looking at inclusive theoretical models.
\n\u2022\u00a0 2006: Child on the Wing Program Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
\n\u2022\u00a0 2004: African Studies Association Graduate Student Paper Prize.
\n\u2022\u00a0 2001: Wenner Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant Recipient.
\n\u2022\u00a0 1998-2001: National Science Foundation Fellow.
\n\u2022\u00a0 1994: Robert B. Notestein Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Anthropology.<\/p>\n

Publications<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Pillars of the Nation: Child Citizens and Ugandan National Development <\/span>(2007)
\nThis book looks at the difficulty children face in Uganda in the formation of identity, and the ways Ugandans are working to define childhood as an empowering identity.\u00a0 It has received a number of excellent reviews from various academics, calling it \u201ca significant contribution to the field of childhood studies\u201d and \u201can impressive and original work.\u201d
\n\u2022\u00a0 Currently working on Crying for Our Elders: African Orphanhood in the Age of HIV and AIDS<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u2022\u00a0 Posted response to KONY 2012 YouTube Campaign Aims To Stop Infamous Uganda Militia Leader<\/em>, agreeing with the critique of the manipulative nature of the video.\u00a0 This shows her acknowledgment of and engagement with other current issues.\u00a0 To view the response, click here<\/a>.
\n\u2022 \u00a0Locating Neocolonialism, \u2018Tradition,\u2019 and Human Rights in Uganda\u2019s \u2018Gay Death Penalty\u2019<\/em>
\nThis article will be published in the African Studies Review this year and discusses the contradictions Uganda makes by claiming homosexuality is \u201cun-African\u201d and how different factors led to a panic over sexual diversity.
\n\u2022 \u00a0Children as ethnographers: Reflections on the importance of participatory research in assessing orphans\u2019 needs<\/em>
\nThis article works with children to learn about what they need and what rights they should have.
\n\u2022\u00a0 A Debate Beyond Sexuality: \u201cTradition,\u201d Human Rights and Uganda\u2019s Gay Death Penalty<\/em>
\nThis article explains the cultural tradition of Ugandan fertility and its link with anti-homosexuality legislation; it also mentions the theory that Uganda is submitting to the neocolonial power of evangelical Christians. \u00a0She hopes they will choose human rights over neo-conservatism.
\n\u2022\u00a0 \u2018Our Children Have Only Known War\u2019: Children\u2019s Experiences and the Uses of Childhood in Northern Uganda<\/em><\/em>
\nThis article examines the use of child soldiers in Northern Uganda and evaluates the process of their rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

To see Kristen Cheney’s Curriculum Vitae, click here<\/a>.
\nAll sources above with the exception of her book and the unpublished article can be found on Cheney’s Academia.edu site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristen E. Cheney, Ph.D. Kristen Cheney is an Anthropology professor who has worked in Uganda for many years.\u00a0 We chose this Anthropologist for her in-depth understanding of Ugandan culture, and her comprehensive perspective on homosexuality in Uganda.\u00a0 She has written … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3398,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":874,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/204\/revisions\/874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/contemporary-issues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}