Introducing Dr Simon Mutebi
The Re-imagining Reproduction project has five postdoctoral research fellows working in various African countries. Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing these incredible researchers to our community. We asked each of our fellows nine questions to get to know them better.
Please tell us who you are, what your area of interest/expertise is, and where in the world you work.
I am Simon Mutebi a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania. I have a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology. I have interests on gender, masculinity, and sexual and reproductive health. My regional interest is Eastern Africa in general, and Tanzania in particular.
What/who inspired your current research field?
Academically, I have been influenced by a number of scholars such as anthropological literature on masculinities and the body as well as social science literature on the medical field of men’s sexual health and behaviour. My PhD mentor namely Professor Hansjörg Dilger has been influential in shaping my thoughts as an African scholar on men’s sexual health. His inspiring insights into my research topic have influenced my current research field.
What projects have you been working on recently?
Recently I have been working on my project titled: Examining Young Men’s Diversity Experiences and Female Partners’ Perspectives Towards Sexual Enhancement Remedies in Tanzania. This project was funded by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) under the category of the African Humanities Program (AHP)
What about your work challenges you, and which parts make you smile?
So far the work challenges which I have faced include: delayed ethical approval and delayed feedback from the journals on whether the manuscript should be published or not. However, in most cases submitting a manuscript for journal publication and receiving reviewer’s comments make me smile.
What three positive things have you achieved in the last year?
In the last year I have achieved the following: Firstly, winning a Post-Doc fellowship in the Medical and Health Humanities at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Secondly, submitting two manuscripts for publication in high-impact journals. Last but not least, attending conferences, seminars and writing workshops.
What advice can you give to people aspiring to work in your field?
People aspiring to work in my field must adapt humanistic and social science approaches to understanding men’s sexual and reproductive health. This will enable them to go beyond the biomedical model of sexual and reproductive health.
What impact would you like your work to have?
I would like my work to advance knowledge by establishing networks for scholarly communication across Africa and with Africanists worldwide. In turn, this will contribute to new knowledge and new directions for further research on re-imagining reproduction in Africa. I also want my work to strengthen instructors of gender & sexuality as well as reproductive health-related courses in Africa
If you had the opportunity to change anything in your field: what would it be, how would you change it, and why?
For now, I think everything is my field is great.