Julie Jenkins

Julie Jenkins is a Research Fellow specializing in the intersection of West African indigenous religions, contemporary slavery, and human rights. Her work centers on the Trokosi or Fiasidi religious practice in Ghana, examining debates around cultural representation and transnational abolition campaigns. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex, an MSc in Social Anthropology & Development from the London School of Economics, and a BA in Anthropology & Sociology from DePauw University.

Research Interests:

• Religion and Gender Inequality in West Africa
• Contemporary Slavery and Human Rights Discourses
• Non-Governmental Organizations and Development
• Visual and Media Representations of Vulnerability

Teaching focuses on religion in Africa, human rights activism, and Afro-Creole religions. Previous courses include Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Anthropology of International Development, and African Cultural Studies.

Her current book project explores how human rights concepts are mobilized by NGOs, religious groups, and international organizations in Ghana’s Trokosi debates.