Marjorie Ruth Dilley (January 26, 1903 – October 28, 1989) was an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. She was a professor of government at

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college ...

from 1935 until 1969. She was the inaugural chair of the department of government at Connecticut College. Her research focused on the colonial politics and history of East Africa.

Education and positions

Dilley was born on January 26, 1903, in Roseville, Illinois. She attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, where she completed an A.B. degree in 1923. After graduating, she lived in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, working as a high school teacher in both states. She then attended graduate school at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

, completing an M.A. degree in 1928, and a PhD in 1934. In the 1932–1933 school year, Dilley studied at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

with

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

and Bronislaw Malinowski, where she was classmates with

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigeno ...

. Her PhD dissertation was entitled ''British policy in

Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

''. From 1930 to 1932, Dilley was a member of the faculty at the College of Puget Sound. In 1935, Dilley joined the department of history and government at Connecticut College. When the government department became a separate department in 1946, Dilley became the chair of it. She was a visiting professor twice at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...

; in the 1958–1959 school year she was the first in Smith-Mundt Visiting Professor of Government there, and in 1962–1963 she was a Fulbright lecturer. Dilley retired in 1968.

Work

Dilley studied the colonial politics of East Africa, particularly British colonialism in Kenya. In 1937, Dilley published her PhD dissertation thesis in the form of a book, also called ''British policy in Kenya Colony''. The book was republished in 1966. ''British policy in Kenya Colony'' described the policy of the British Empire towards Kenya during the period in which Kenya was a colony of Britain, and largely focused on the personalities and behaviors of British settlers in Kenya. For this reason, the book was praised for being one of the first analyses to turn a critical eye towards British colonial activity in East Africa, and was viewed by the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

as highly critical of their policies, but was also critiqued for eliding and largely omitting the actions and preferences of the Kenyan people. The fact that she wrote the book in England and America without ever visiting Kenya was described both as a benefit and a detriment, leading to a deeply researched volume that also lacked any detailed discussion of the victims of colonization. The book was also particularly noted for making substantial evidence available from the library of the Colonial Office when direct evidence of Britain's colonial activities was lacking, particularly in America. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Dilley worked on welfare and relief efforts for the children of

Bristol, England Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, for which she was awarded the

King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom The King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal instituted by King George VI on 23 August 1945. It was awarded to civilian foreign nationals, mainly of allied countries, who had given meritorious service to further the int ...

by King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

. Dilley died on October 28, 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dilley, Marjorie Ruth 1903 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American women writers American women political scientists American political scientists University of Colorado alumni University of Washington alumni University of Puget Sound faculty Connecticut College faculty American women academics 20th-century political scientists