#  ASW - “The Nana Benz: West Africa’s Merchant Queens in Historical Perspective” with Prof. Marius Kothor 

 



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####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **April 20, 2026** 

 12:00PM - 01:30PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Harvard CAS Seminar Room. 1280 Massachusetts Ave 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138**  



 

 [ Virtual Registration (Zoom Link will be sent to your email) arrow\_circle\_right ](https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/DuWrFnEXR2KJZ8WULtEgTA) 

 



 

Join us for our in-person African Studies Workshop! The workshop series is a scholarly space for Africa-centered research, offering a diverse range of topics and scholarly backgrounds to explore historical and current conditions.  
  
**APRIL 20, 2026**

***Speaker: Marius Kothor**, Assistant Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality*

***Title:*** **“The Nana Benz: West Africa’s Merchant Queens in Historical Perspective”**

**Bio:** Marius Kothor is an Assistant Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University. Dr. Kothor is an historian of 20th century West Africa whose work examines the political and economic lives of a group of Togolese women merchants known as the Nana Benz. Her work has been published in academic and popular outlets including: The American Historical Review, The Oxford Encyclopedia of African History, Africa is a Country, and Black Perspectives.

**If you are in Cambridge/Boston,** we encourage you to join us in the **Seminar Room at the Harvard Center for African Studies. If you are joining us virtually,** [**please register here on Zoom.**](https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/DuWrFnEXR2KJZ8WULtEgTA)[ ](https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/ZeyMJvZcSL20sEDvHlaY1A)Once you register, you will receive the **Zoom Link in your email inbox.**

 ![k](/sites/g/files/omnuum9081/files/2026-04/ASW%20Spotlight%20Graphics-5.png)

 

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For future workshops, please [join our ASW mailing list](https://africa.harvard.edu/african-studies-workshop-0). All speakers are listed below.

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