POSTPONED until Spring 2022: Francis Dodoo, Penn State University

Special Notice:  In discussions with Francis Dodoo regarding attendance numbers, travel considerations and other uncertainties with the omicron variant, we have decided to postpone his seminar until spring semester.  For logistical purposes, I will be sending out cancellation notices to everyone who has already pre-registered and will remove the zoom link for access.  Francis is looking forward to meeting with everyone in the Spring.

About the Presentation

The problematization of unhealthy and early sexual experiences is a classic research focus, particularly as it relates to young women. Accumulated evidence points to the serious, adverse impacts of such experiences for young females. In sub-Saharan Africa, that girls or young women frequently find themselves in coercive relationships undergirded by significant age- and/or power-imbalances is widely known. Less appreciated is the extent of coercion involved in the early sexual experiences (including debut) of boys; indeed, males’ sexual experiences are typically considered to be desired, and even at early ages deemed consensual or the result of willing experimentation. Findings of a mixed-methods study in Ghana evidence the experiences of some young males, who report considerable coercion associated with their unwanted and generally traumatic sexual debuts. That these largely occurred in or near their home settings—where they were preyed upon by caretakers and other persons known to their families—and at very young ages (including as early as age 5) is particularly disturbing, and portends potential mental and physical health concerns. As one reported, “she saw me as prey and (she) went for it”. We consider the implications of these experiences for their later relational behaviors.

About the Speaker

Research and Teaching Interests include: Research capacity building in Sub-Saharan Africa; Demographic and health outcomes associated with urban poverty; Intergenerational transfer of norms governing the gendered stratification of sexuality; The male role and the intersection of gender and power on fertility; Africans and other black immigrants in the United States.
Professional Awards and Achievements: 
1988-1995 Assistant to Associate (1994) Professor of Sociology, and Director, African and Diaspora Studies (1992-1995), Tulane University
1995-2001 Associate Professor of Sociology, and Director, African American Studies (1995-1998), Vanderbilt University
1998-2000 Director (and Senior Fellow of the Population Council), African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi
2001-2003 Professor and Chair (2002), Department of African American Studies, and Faculty Associate, Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland
2003-present Professor of Sociology and Demography, Department of Sociology and Faculty Research Associate, Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University

Note: This will be held as a HYBRID seminar.  Please therefore register using either the link for the in person RSVP or using the registration link for the virtual zoom meeting.  Same seminar, but please register for the method you wish to attend

Location: Postponed until Spring 2022 

COVID-19 Information

MPRC public events for Fall 2021 will be a mix of in person and  online via Zoom(One or the other, not hybrid).  For in person events, all event attendees must follow current protocols