Assistant Professor
About
Dr. Jimenez work examines the gender history of Nguni-speakers in southern Africa between the 9th-20th century. Over a millennium, Nguni-speakers innovated and reconfigured masculine propriety and male relationships. Changing ideas of gender allowed Nguni-speakers to congregate young men into vast networks, define male identity, establish obligations of men as sons and husbands, and orient junior men towards political and economic opportunities. The manipulation of masculinity mediated the extension of regional and global commerce into Southeast Africa in the 11th-13th century, and political centralization in the 13th-17th century. At the end of the millennium, gender and generation formed the cornerstone of political ideology, both in sovereign states and among public intellectuals under colonial rule. Dr. Jimenez's research provides a narrative of long-term historical transformation through the ideals and debates of households, and places 19th and 20th century gender politics in deep time context.
Dr. Jimenez's is committed to providing individualized support for students — particularly people of color, low-income, first-generation, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized students when they find themselves confronted with circumstances during their college years. She also deliberately works to create a climate of inclusion and openness in the classroom so that marginalized individuals will not silence themselves out of existence, as well as to provide students with the skills needed to translate their knowledge and experience to academic speech. In addition to her work within college classrooms, Dr. Jimenez has also spent time teaching recently arrived refugees and tutoring high school students of color.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Africa, gender, political economy, comparative historical linguistics
