Bender (Gerald J.) papers

University of Southern California

Gerald J. Bender (1941-2017) was a professor at the USC School of International Relations who specialized in the politics, history, and languages of Portuguese-speaking African countries, with an emphasis on Angola. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he became interested in African politics during his undergraduate studies when he lived in Nigeria to complete a summer research study on community development. In 1963, he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and obtained his Master's and PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1967. He became a research fellow in the African Studies Center at UCLA, where he spearheaded the grant-funded Portuguese Africa Project from 1971 to 1975. In 1979, he joined the faculty at the USC School of International Relations where he would teach for three decades until his retirement in 2011. From 1986 to 1991, he was appointed as the director of the school. He received seven teaching awards during his career at USC, including the USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1985. From the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, he published and lectured extensively about political issues in Angola and other Portuguese-speaking African countries, Portugal, and South Africa under apartheid. He commented on the United States' policies toward southern African countries in national newspapers and presented statements for the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Additionally, Bender served as a consultant for the U.S. State Department, non-profits such as the Citizens Engergy Corporation, and several multinational corporations and think tanks. He convinced Conoco, an oil company, to invest in local communities in Angola, and worked on a project to reduce the incidence of AIDS in the Angolan Armed Forces. Throughout his career, Bender maintained political alliances with African politicians and negotiated with organizations on behalf of governments to facilitate the development of libraries and hospitals.

Flag this collection

Type

Finding aids

Country

United States of America

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access

Dates Covered

1960-2016

Language

English

Portuguese

Locations Discussed

Sub-Saharan Africa

Southern Africa

West Africa

Angola

Note

This collection comprises the papers of Gerald J. Bender, a professor of international relations at USC from 1979 to 2011 and director of the School of International Relations from 1986 to 1991. Bender was a foremost expert on the study of politics, languages, and culture of Angola and Southern Africa generally, with a particular interest in United States foreign policy toward the region. The Gerald J. Bender papers contain Bender's personal, professional, and USC correspondence, files on Bender's research, consultancies, and projects (including his work with oil companies in southern Africa), teaching materials relating to the USC School of International Relations, an extensive collection of news clippings on topics relating to Southern Africa, some realia and graphic materials, and manuscripts, published papers, and research proposals authored by Bender and/or his colleagues

66.5 Linear Feet 73 boxes