Rachel Bezner Kerr

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

My primary research area is in international development, focusing on the region of southern and eastern Africa. Within the broad field of international development, my own areas of specialization are social and environmental inequalities and community-based, participatory research related to agriculture, health and nutrition in Malawi. My research is done in collaboration with smallholder farmers and a hospital in northern Malawi, as part of a participatory research project called ‘Soils, Food and Healthy Communities project’ based out of Ekwendeni Hospital. I have been the Research Coordinator for the Soils, Food and Healthy Communities Project in Malawi for the last five years (see www.soilandfood.org for more information). This multidisciplinary research and development project in Malawi examines the multiple social, environmental and medical aspects of child health and nutrition, involving nutritionists, agricultural scientists, farmers, medical personnel and NGO staff. My own research will focus on four main themes in the coming years:

  1. the linkages between HIV/AIDS affected families, agricultural practices, food security and health, and strategies for improving health and food security of HIV-affected families;
  2. historical and contemporary perspectives on the increased use of drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum and millet;
  3. the role of multinational corporations in shaping agricultural policy and programming in southern Africa; and
  4. participatory educational processes to improve child nutrition, food security and soil fertility.

Publications (past 7 years)

Refereed Journals

Msachi, R., Dakishoni, L. and Bezner Kerr, R. (forthcoming) 'Soils, Food and Healthy Communities: Working Towards Food Sovereignty' Journal of Peasant Studies

Satzinger, F., Bezner Kerr, R. and Shumba, L. (forthcoming) 'Farmers integrate nutrition, social issues and agriculture through knowledge exchange in northern Malawi' Ecology of Food and Nutrition

Bezner Kerr, R., Dakishoni, L. and Shumba, L. 2008 'We Grandmothers Know Plenty: Breastfeeding, Complementary Feeding and the Multifaceted Role of Grandmothers in Malawi' Social Science and Medicine 66(5), 1095-1105

Bezner Kerr, R. "Groundnuts as an 'Economic Crop' or 'Wife of the Home' in Northern Nyasaland' Journal of Historical Geography (forthcoming)

Bezner Kerr, R., Berti, P. and Chirwa, M. 2007 'Breastfeeding and Mixed Feeding Practices in Malawi: Timing, Reasons, Decision Makers, and Child Health Consequences' Food and Nutrition Bulletin 28 (1): 90-99

Bezner Kerr, R., Snapp, S., Chirwa, M., Shumba, L. and  Msachi, R. 2007 'Participatory Research on Legume Diversification with Malawian Smallholder Farmers for Improved Human Nutrition and Soil Fertility'  Experimental Agriculture 4

Bezner Kerr, R. 2005 'Informal labor and social relations in northern Malawi: the theoretical challenges and implications of ganyu labor' Rural Sociology 70 (2): 167-187

Bezner Kerr, R. 2005 'Food security, entitlements and gender relations in northern Malawi' Journal of Southern African Studies 31 (1): 53-74

Bezner Kerr, R. and Chirwa, M. 2004 'Soils, Food and Healthy Communities: Participatory Research Approaches in Northern Malawi' Ecohealth 1 (Supplement 2): 109-119

Chapters in Books

Sikstrom, L.R., Bezner Kerr, R. and Dakishoni, L. (forthcoming) 'Crossing Boundaries: Multiple Meanings of the Ilness ‘Moto’ in Northern Malawi' in Infant Feeding Beliefs and Practices: A Cross-Cultural Perspective ed Pranee Liamputtong, full book submission July 2009 to Springer

Bezner Kerr, R. (forthcoming) "The Land is Changing: contested Agricultural Narratives in Northern Malawi": invited chapter in edited volume: Embedded Neo-Liberalism in the Gear of Social Change: a Multi-Sided Analysis. (submitted May 2008)

Bezner Kerr, R. 2008. "Gender and Agrarian Inequality at the Local Scale" In: S. Snapp and B. Pound (ed). Agricultural Systems: Agroecology and Rural Innovation. (San Diego: Elsevier Press) 279-306

Supervised Graduate Students and Theses Titles

Ph.D. Students Year Title
M. Steckley Current TBA
MA Students Year Title
C. Bonatsos Current Food security effects of smallholder farmer legume diversification in northern Malawi
J. Vansteenkiste Current Urban Agriculture, Gender and Poverty Reduction in Haiti
B. Curry
(co-supervised)		 2008 Geographies of Infant Feeding Decisions
L. Riley

(co-supervised)

 2008 Children's Geography and the Everyday Lives of Orphans in Malawi

Also from this web page:

Rachel Bezner Kerr

 

Courses Taught

  • GEO 2030 - Africa South of the Sahara
  • GEO 3250 - Geographic Research: Methods & Issues
  • GEO 3445 - Geography of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
  • GEO 9106 - Development Geography