Talitha aims to implement an innovative approach to teaching African history and anthropology that “allows students to embrace new ideas about Africa and all that it has to offer.”

Talitha Tukura Pam is earning her PhD in Anthropology and History at the University of Michigan. Talitha entered the joint doctoral program after earning a master’s degree in community sustainability from Michigan State University and receiving a Mastercard Foundation Fellowship; prior to that, she spent over seven years working in various nongovernmental organizations to advance community development initiatives, especially for women and girls, in northern Nigeria. In 2012, she also co-founded the Eden Creation Care Initiative, a Nigerian nonprofit that primarily focuses on conservation and environmental awareness in Nigerian communities.

Talitha brings a wealth of knowledge to her current research on escalating violence between farmers and pastoralists in northern Nigeria. In particular, Talitha is investigating how gender has been enacted and operationalized in the conflict. She recently began working on a documentary titled Of Many Firsts that highlights the life of Grace Alele William, the first Nigerian woman to earn a PhD in Mathematics Education and a role model in STEM. Talitha’s professors remark that she is “a highly motivated, astute, and engaged scholar” on the path to “make important contributions to the history and anthropology of farmer-pastoralist conflict and the effects of violence on women.” 

After completing her PhD, Talitha intends to pursue an academic job and teach and research topics including gender, social and economic history, conflict, and the environment. In particular, she aims to implement an innovative approach to teaching African history and anthropology that “allows students to embrace new ideas about Africa and all that it has to offer.” She is further committed to being a change agent, contributing to policy work and development activities, and supporting women of color through her professional activities.

CEW+ celebrates Talitha’s vision for her scholarship and teaching and names her a Mary Malcomson Raphael Scholar.