Rachel Sandwell, assistant professor of history at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has received the Joel Gregory Book Prize from the Canadian Association of African Studies for her new book, National Liberation and the Political Life of Exile: Sex, Gender, and Nation in the Struggle Against Apartheid (Ohio University Press, 2025). The award is presented biennially in recognition of excellent scholarship on Africa.
National Liberation and the Political Life of Exile examines the role of women in South Africa’s liberation movements, particularly within the African National Congress during its years in exile from 1960 to 1990. The award-winning monograph is Dr. Sandwell’s debut book.
Before joining the Cornell faculty, Dr. Sandwell taught in the department of history and classical studies and the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at McGill University in Montreal. She has also conducted research at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and served as a fellow of the Centre for Ethnographic Research and Exhibition in the Aftermath of Violence at Concordia University in Canada.
Dr. Sandwell received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from McGill University. After earning her master’s degree in anthropology and development studies from the London School of Economics, she returned to McGill University to complete her Ph.D. in history.