Gwendolen Carter was born in Canada in 1906. As a child she contracted polio and lost the use of her legs for life. In 1929, Carter completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in history at the University of Toronto and then in 1931 received a second Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oxford. She returned to Canada and taught at McMaster University until 1935. The following year, she moved to the United States and completed a Master of Arts degree at Radcliffe College followed by a PhD in political science in 1938.
After her first trip to South Africa in 1948, Carter focused on the politics and economies of southern Africa for the duration of her forty year career as an author and teacher. She held teaching positions at Smith College, Northwestern University, Indiana University and then at the University of Florida from 1984 until her retirement in 1987.
Carter delivered two Beatty lectures in March 1982 titled "Apartheid: Dying or Resurgent" and "The African States Seek Economic Liberation".
Listen to Gwendolyn Carter's first Beatty Lecture:
Part 1Ìý Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Listen to Gwendolyn Carter's second Beatty Lecture:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Audio: Â鶹AV Archives
Image: Special Collections, Smith College
