Rachel Sandwell

Rachel Sandwell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Cornell University. She researches modern African history with focus on transnational solidarity, national liberation movements, and gender politics during late decolonization periods. Her work examines women's roles in anti-colonial struggles, particularly within exiled political organizations.

Sandwell's scholarship analyzes how women contributed to theorizing anti-colonial freedom through engagements with health services and political organizing. Her forthcoming book explores women's work in the anti-apartheid movement and visions for post-apartheid transformation. Current research investigates transnational connections between southern African decolonization movements and their international supporters.

Her publications demonstrate emphasis on gender dynamics in political movements, examining reproductive politics, women's labor in exile organizations, and the construction of nationalist identities through memoir and testimony.

Before joining Cornell, Sandwell was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand and taught at McGill University. She holds a PhD from McGill University and MSc from London School of Economics.