MARIAH CRYSTAL

PhD Student, University of Kansas

I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Kansas (KU) in the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.  I am also currently a KU Institute for Policy and Social Research Doctoral Research Fellow.  I study women’s roles during war and conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa and how gender was strategically deployed as a tactic of war. 
My recent scholarly presentations include “Namibian Women’s Stories: Gender-Based Violence in Namibia” presented at the Northeastern Workshop on Southern Africa, “Gender-Based Violence in Namibia,” presented at the African Studies Association Annual Meeting and, “Namibian Women Freedom Fighters and their Perspectives on Namibian Independence” at the Mid-America Alliance for African Studies.
I have a B.A. in German and Management from St. Olaf College, and an M.A. in Public Policy and International Development Management from the University of Washington.  My background is in international education, and I have taught in Germany, Namibia and the US.  I had a Fulbright grant in Germany in 2002, studied health, human rights and social transformation in Kenya in 2010 and served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Namibia from 2012 – 2014.