A voice for the silenced
MSU professor touches on the history, effects of venereal disease in Kenya
by Grace Webb
Issue date: 11/17/09
Section: Campus News
"How do you read silences in history?" This is the question Dr. Agnes Odinga tried to answer in her presentation at the 2009 Minnesota State History Forum. Speaking to a room crammed full of attentive students and faculty, Dr. Odinga spoke about the history of venereal disease in Kenya and its effects on women.Â
Dr. Odinga focused on how women have been underrepresented from the start in a health system inherently male. Now, Dr. Odinga is trying to give these women a voice.
Dr. Odinga has been teaching at MSU since 2007, but her history starts long before. Born and raised in Kenya, the smart, soft-spoken professor attended Kenyada University and earned her bachelor's and M.A. in history before going to the University of Minnesota to get her Ph.D. She taught at top schools, such as Trinity College and the U of M before coming to Mankato, where she has already made a lasting impression on students and faculty alike.
On Nov. 12, Odinga revealed her research project about Kenyan venereal disease, a project she has been working on extensively. Odigna's key question dealt with how women and women's roles fit into the Kenyan health-care system. She noticed that, while digging through archival sources and interviewing people, she received a very male-oriented history. She wanted to know more about the women's issues. Her goal is to find a way to better research and document women and their experiences, a daunting task when women are given such little power to express themselves in a traditionally male-dominated society.
Through exhaustive research, Odinga concluded that the Kenyan health-care system was inherently gendered male, from its practices to its practitioners. Most anti-venereal campaigns were pronatalist, dealing with mothers and children, and assuming that women were ultimately responsible for every venereal disease. Odinga maintains that the current health care system of clinics and hospitals is not working, and that new methods, which focus on both genders, must be implemented.Â
"One is forced to wonder about Africans and how they dealt with [diseases]," Odinga stated in her speech. She offered a new idea: the mixture of western techniques and traditional health remedies.
Dr. Odinga delivered a powerful message full of important facts and innovative ideas on how to help Kenya. Both students and fellow professors were impressed with what they had heard. Clayton Kozan, a senior at MSU, stated, "[Her presentation] was very well put together [and] a great academic experience. [Dr. Odinga] is great - very knowledgeable about her topics and [able to] present them in a fun way people can understand."
Another attendee, Dr. Christopher Corley, director of the MSU Honors Program, couldn't have agreed more.Â
"It's always nice when the history department can show the campus their research. It's a great thing for the campus [because] kids see professors teach, but they don't always get to see research. This way, they can see what the professor is actually doing."
Grace Webb is a Reporter staff writer
Dr. Odinga focused on how women have been underrepresented from the start in a health system inherently male. Now, Dr. Odinga is trying to give these women a voice.
Dr. Odinga has been teaching at MSU since 2007, but her history starts long before. Born and raised in Kenya, the smart, soft-spoken professor attended Kenyada University and earned her bachelor's and M.A. in history before going to the University of Minnesota to get her Ph.D. She taught at top schools, such as Trinity College and the U of M before coming to Mankato, where she has already made a lasting impression on students and faculty alike.
On Nov. 12, Odinga revealed her research project about Kenyan venereal disease, a project she has been working on extensively. Odigna's key question dealt with how women and women's roles fit into the Kenyan health-care system. She noticed that, while digging through archival sources and interviewing people, she received a very male-oriented history. She wanted to know more about the women's issues. Her goal is to find a way to better research and document women and their experiences, a daunting task when women are given such little power to express themselves in a traditionally male-dominated society.
Through exhaustive research, Odinga concluded that the Kenyan health-care system was inherently gendered male, from its practices to its practitioners. Most anti-venereal campaigns were pronatalist, dealing with mothers and children, and assuming that women were ultimately responsible for every venereal disease. Odinga maintains that the current health care system of clinics and hospitals is not working, and that new methods, which focus on both genders, must be implemented.Â
"One is forced to wonder about Africans and how they dealt with [diseases]," Odinga stated in her speech. She offered a new idea: the mixture of western techniques and traditional health remedies.
Dr. Odinga delivered a powerful message full of important facts and innovative ideas on how to help Kenya. Both students and fellow professors were impressed with what they had heard. Clayton Kozan, a senior at MSU, stated, "[Her presentation] was very well put together [and] a great academic experience. [Dr. Odinga] is great - very knowledgeable about her topics and [able to] present them in a fun way people can understand."
Another attendee, Dr. Christopher Corley, director of the MSU Honors Program, couldn't have agreed more.Â
"It's always nice when the history department can show the campus their research. It's a great thing for the campus [because] kids see professors teach, but they don't always get to see research. This way, they can see what the professor is actually doing."
Grace Webb is a Reporter staff writer
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