Dr. Rachel Sandwell

Biography

Rachel Sandwell's work focuses on the intellectual and social history of African decolonization, with a particular emphasis on women's roles and gender politics. Her geographic concentration is on South Africa, where she examines the intersections of political and familial intimacies as the African National Congress (ANC) navigated its strategies in exile. Prior to joining Cornell, she taught at McGill University and served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Sandwell is also a Fellow at the Centre for Ethnographic Research and Exhibition in the Aftermath of Violence (CEREV) at Concordia University. Her research has been featured in prominent journals such as Signs and the South African Historical Journal, and she is a board member of the Workshop on Southern Africa. Sandwell’s forthcoming book, "National Liberation and the Political Life of Exile," examines the daily realities of exiled ANC members and their interactions with international supporters. Her ongoing projects delve into the connections between national liberation movements and international development, as well as the role of feminist history in understanding the nature of political and intimate violence within revolutionary contexts.

Research Interests

Experience