A Nigerian Case Study: Gendering African Studies in North Africa, 2021–2026

This case study investigates the persistent marginalisation of gender as a critical analytical framework within African Studies programmes in Nigeria. It interrogates how curricula and pedagogical approaches in three purposefully selected federal universities reproduce androcentric knowledge structures, particularly in engagements with North African societies. Employing a multi-method qualitative design, the research conducts a systematic thematic analysis of core programme syllabi (2021–2024), complemented by 24 semi-structured interviews with faculty and postgraduate students, and a critical review of national educational policy documents (2023–2025). The methodology is justified by the need for deep, contextual insight into epistemic practices. Findings reveal a significant dissonance: whilst a growing rhetorical commitment to gendered analysis exists, its integration remains superficial, often relegating women’s experiences and feminist scholarship to isolated optional modules. Furthermore, engagements with North Africa frequently default to masculinised political-economic analyses, overlooking rich gendered histories and contemporary social movements. This study argues that this epistemic gap fundamentally undermines the decolonial potential of African Studies by failing to challenge inherited patriarchal academic structures. The paper concludes that substantive gendering of the curriculum is not merely additive but essential for producing rigorous, continentally relevant knowledge that reflects the lived realities of all Africans.