Gueye receives Fulbright to teach, research the politics of feminism, wifehood
East Carolina University’s Dr. Marame Gueye has won a competitive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for the 2024-25 academic year. She will teach and conduct research at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) in Sénégal, Africa.
Gueye said “Americanah” by Chimamanda Adichie is one of her favorite books because it speaks to the experiences of Africans in the U.S. and the challenges of immigration, becoming Black in America and returning home after years abroad, something very similar to her personal story of displacement. (Photo by Steven Mantilla)
“I was elated when I got the news,” she said.
Gueye is an associate professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Department of English and focuses on African and African diaspora literature. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from UCAD and her doctoral degree from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
“Dr. Marame Gueye is a highly engaged scholar-activist. Her scholarly work cuts across the disciplines of literature, film, African languages, cultural studies, and women and gender studies,” said Dr. Lida Cope, professor and chair of English. “Her scholarship intertwines with her activism focused on women’s rights, migration, translation, education and public engagement for social justice, and she’s considered one of the most vocal feminist activists in her native country of Sénégal. Her upcoming Fulbright stay at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar is truly well deserved.”
Since joining ECU in 2007, Gueye has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in world literature, African literature, and global women’s writing and the politics of feminism. Her research interests include African women’s art, multicultural and transnational literature and immigration studies. Her articles have appeared in Research in African Literatures, African Studies Review, the Journal of Pan African Studies and many other international publications.
Gueye’s bookshelf is lined with books in subjects and areas of research she enjoys most. (Photo by Steven Mantilla)
“The benefits of a Fulbright Scholar Award extend beyond the individual recipient. Fulbright Scholars raise the profile of their home institutions,” said Marianne Craven, acting deputy assistant secretary for academic programs in the Fulbright program’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Originally from Sénégal, and now having spent 27 years in the United States, Gueye will return to the country as a U.S. citizen in early September. Beginning Oct. 1, she will teach and conduct a 10-month-long research project, “Discourses of Wifing.” The project will focus on how Senegalese women think about wifehood as a service they render to men. Gueye will examine the concept of wifehood and scholarly activism surrounding gender violence through art, films, music, social media and soccer.
She said the country recently elected its fifth president, the youngest president in the region at the age of 44. He has two wives who will move into the presidential palace with him, so Gueye said she will include a chapter on wifehood through the lens of polygamy.
In addition, Gueye is returning to the department where she earned her undergraduate degrees. She will teach a course in multicultural women’s writing and the politics of feminism, one of the first courses on gender in the department.
“I am excited to return to my alma mater, the place that forged my intellectual path,” Gueye said. “I have taught there during summer trips and the students are eager to learn. So, I look forward to the experience.”
About the Award
Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious and competitive fellowships that provide unique opportunities for scholars to teach and conduct research abroad. Scholars also play a critical role in U.S. public diplomacy, establishing long-term relationships between people and nations.
The Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, funded by Congress through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments nad host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support for the program.
Alumni of the Fulbright Program include 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows, and thousands of leaders and world-renowned experts in academia and many other fields.
Articles featuring Dr. Gueye
Gueye published an article on the low representation of women in Sénégal’s new government and the glamorizing of polygamy in the online site, Africa Is a Country.
Gueye was a guest on Voice of America’s “Our Voices,” a TV show broadcast in several African countries. She was invited to speak about the impact of polygamy on women and the fact that the newly elected Sénégalese president has two wives.
The Africa Report named Gueye among 10 African scholars to watch in 2024. Africa Report is a Paris-based English-language quarterly magazine focusing on African politics and economics. It is a branch of Jeune Afrique, the most widely-read Panafrican magazine.