Gavin P. Williams (born in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in 1943) is an Africanist, sociologist, and

political economist Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...

. Since 2010, he has been an

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

St Peter's College, Oxford St Peter's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Located on New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom, it occupies the site of two of the university's academic halls of the Univers ...

, where he previously taught

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from 1975 until 2010. After graduating from the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

with a BA degree, Williams wrote his B. Phil.

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

with a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, on the

political sociology Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

Western Nigeria The former Western State of Nigeria was formed in 1967 when the Western Region was subdivided into the states of Lagos and Western State. Its capital was Ibadan, which was the capital of the old region. The largest ethnic group here are the Yoruba. ...

. At

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

he lectured on sociology during 1967 to 1970 and 1972 to 1975. He was a research fellow at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

and associate at the

Nigerian Institute Of Social And Economic Research Nigerian Institute Of Social And Economic Research is a public research institute located in Ibadan. The center is one of the foremost publicly funded think tanks in the country. It is headed by a director-general, Antonia Simbine. Background P ...

(NISER),

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

from 1970-1972. On examination of his published work he received a D. Litt. degree from

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

in South Africa in 2013. From 1990 Williams has taught and performed research at several South African universities, such as Rhodes University. Williams was awarded the 2013/2014 ASAUK Distinguished Africanist Award. He was one of the founding editors of the ''

Review of African Political Economy The ''Review of African Political Economy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering African political economy. It was founded with the help of Lionel Cliffe and is published quarterly by Taylor & Francis since 1974. As of January 2024 the jou ...

'' in the early 1970s, which published a special issue honouring Williams in 2012.

Publications

Gavin Williams published many scholarly articles and books including: * with De Kadt, Emanuel Jehuda: ''Sociology and development'', Tavistock Publications : Harper & Row, Barnes & Noble, London, 1974. * ''Nigeria : economy and society'', Collings, London, 1976. * ''State and Society in Nigeria'', Afrografika Publishers, University of California, 1980. eBook, Malthouse Press Ltd, Nigeria, Oxford, 2019. * with Heyer, Judith and Robert, Pepe: Introduction, and Eds. ''Rural Development'', Conference 1980 at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, African Studies Seminar. Macmillan, 1981. * ''Inequalities in rural Nigeria'', School of Development Studies,

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, Norwich, 1981. * with Allen, Chris: ''Sociology of Developing Societies: Sub-Saharan Africa'', Macmillan Press, London, 1982. * with Kiloh, Margaret and Willmer, John: ''The origins of the Nigerian civil war'',

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

Press, Milton Keynes, 1983. * ''Namibia, writing for liberation'', Namibia Support Committee. Review of African Political Economy, London, Sheffield, 1987. * ''Land and freedom : capitalism and peasantries in Africa'',

Institute of Social Studies An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...

, The Hague, 1992 * Setting the Agenda: A Critique of the World Bank's Rural Restructuring Programme for South Africa, ''Journal of Southern African Studies'', 22(1996), 139-166. In Special Issue: State and Development. * ''Fragments of democracy : nationalism, development and the state in Africa'', HSRC Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa, 2003. * with Beckman, Björn: ''Democracy, labour, and politics in Africa and Asia'', Centre for Research and Documentation (CRD), Kano igeria 2004.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gavin 1943 births Academics of Durham University Academics of the University of Sussex Fellows of St Peter's College, Oxford Living people People from Pretoria South African Rhodes Scholars Rhodes University alumni South African Africanists Stellenbosch University alumni