Akosua Keseboa Darkwah

Her area of specialization is Sociology of Development as well as Gender Studies. She currently has two lines of research. In the first, she and her collaborator Gretchen Bauer of the University of Delaware are exploring the factors that explain Ghanaian women’s successful entry into elected office. In her second project, she together with colleagues in the Business School and the School of Performing Arts as well as colleagues from Denmark are investigating the nature of the creative arts industry in Ghana and its implications for the successful careers of male and Head, Department of Sociology

AREA OF SPECIALIZATION

Sociology of Development, Gender Studies

COURSES TAUGHT CURRENTLY:

Sociology of Deviant Behaviour, Globalisation and the Developing World, Sociology of the Third World, Political Economy of African States

ACADEMIC SPECIALISATION

• Sociology of Development
• Sociology of Work
• Gender Studies

AWARDS/PRIZES/GRANTS:

2019-2023 DANIDA Grant for Advancing Creative Industries for Development in Ghana (with M.A. Sanda, O. Anku-Tsede, R. Resario, T. Langevang, K. Gough and E. Belfiore)

This interdisciplinary project seeks to generate original empirical and theoretical knowledge on creative industries in a Global South context by exploring the policies, labour conditions and business dynamics of creative industries in Ghana. Ultimately, the findings will inform the development of sustainable policies within the sector.

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Darkwah, Akosua K. 2019. Book Review, The Twilight of Cutting: African Activism and Life after NGOs. African Economic Research and Finance 11 (1): 240-244.

Bauer, Gretchen and Akosua K. Darkwah. 2019. “Some Money has to be Going…”: Discounted Filing Fees to bring more women into Parliament in Ghana. In Gendered Electoral Financing: Money, Power and Representation in Comparative Perspective, edited by Ragnhild Muriaas, Vibeke Wang and Rainbow Murray. London: Routledge. Pp 133-154.

Darkwah, Akosua K., Dako-Gyeke, Mavis and Edward Nketia-Amponsah. 2018. Hedging against Vulnerability: Associational Life as a Social Insurance Strategy by the poor in the Central Region of Ghana. In Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa: Governance below the state, edited by Nicholas Awortwi and Gregor Walter-Drop. New York: Routledge. Pp. 87-103.

Bauer, Gretchen., Akosua Darkwah and Donna Patterson. 2017. Women and Post-Independence African Politics. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. DOI:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.202

Harris, Leila. M., Kleiber, Danika., Goldin, Jacqui., Darkwah, Akosua and Cynthia Morinville. 2017. Intersections of gender and water: Comparative approaches to everyday gendered negotiations of water access in underserved areas of Accra, Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Gender Studies 26 (5): 561-582.

Darkwah, Akosua K. 2016. Globalisation, Development and the Empowerment of Women. In Handbook of Gender in International Relations, edited by Jill Steans and Daniela Tepe-Belfrage. London: Edward Elgar. Pp. 386-393.

Tsikata, Dzodzi and Akosua Darkwah. 2014. Researching Empowerment: On Methodological Innovations, Pitfalls and Challenges. Women’s Studies International Forum. 45(4): 81-89.

Sohela Nazneen., Darkwah, Akosua and Maheen Sultan. 2014. Researching Women’s Empowerment: Reflections on Methodology by Southern Feminists. Women’s Studies International Forum 45(4): 55-62.

Dzokoto, Vivian Afi and Akosua K. Darkwah. 2014. If times change, should we throw away the hearthstone: Exploring (Dis) continuities in autonomy and decision-making in the lives of Ghanaian women. Frontiers in Psychology 5 (1371): 1-8.

Darkwah, Akosua K. 2014. Structural Gendered Inequalities in the Ghanaian Economy. In Sociology and Development Issues in Ghana: A Reader in Sociology, edited by Dan-Bright S. Dzorgbo and Steve Tonah. Accra: Woeli Publishing Services. Pp. 137-151.

Darkwah, Akosua., Tonah, Steve and Max Assimeng. 2014. The Development of Sociology and Anthropology in Ghana and Future Trends. In Changing Perspectives on the Social Sciences in Ghana, edited by Samuel Agyei-Mensah, Joseph A. Ayee and Abena D. Oduro. Netherlands: Springer. Pp 95-112.

Darkwah, Akosua K. 2013. Keeping Hope Alive: An Analysis of Training Opportunities for Ghanaian Youth in the Emerging Oil and Gas Industry. International Development Planning Review 35 (2): 119-134.

Tsikata, Dzodzi and Akosua Darkwah. 2013. Employment and Social Development. In Ghana Social Development Report 2013, edited by Dzodzi Tsikata. Accra: ISSER. Pp. 205-238.

Heaton, Tim and Akosua K. Darkwah. 2011. Religious Differences in Modernization of the Family: Family Demographic Trends in Ghana. Journal of Family Issues 20 (1): 1-21.

Darkwah, Akosua K. 2010. Education: Pathway to Empowerment for Ghanaian Women? IDS Bulletin 41 (2): 28-36.