Helen Bezuneh (they/she) is a PhD student in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania. They earned their B.A. from Smith College with a major in Africana Studies and minor in African Studies (2023).
Drawing on her work as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Helen’s research lies at the intersections of racial formation, national identity, and notions of beauty. They examine how contemporary African communities mobilize race in the making of national identity, how such processes depend upon the politicization of female bodies, and how these communities engage with their national histories to legitimize such identities.
With a particular focus on Ethiopians both at home and abroad, Helen considers how late 19th to 20th century global perceptions of the nation’s racial status may have contributed to the racialized development of Ethiopian national identities. She further examines how individuals mobilize portrayals of Ethiopian feminine beauty in the making of such racial projects. Helen is interested in methods of ethnography, interviews, visual analysis, and archival research.