Labelle Prussin is a respected architect, scientist and writer. This woman has done a great job of exploring Africa. In her research, she touched not only on the issue of architecture, but also on the role of women in society, which is why many consider her one of the first ideologists of feminism. She stopped working, but her scientific works are still used. The woman has published several bestsellers. Surprisingly little is known about her life story, although readers are eager to learn more about her.

Biography

There is very little exact data (especially about the early years of life). This woman is from the United States, where she was born around 1930. Her sincere craving for science manifested itself in her youth. After high school, she traveled on her own to the University of California at Berkeley. She hitchhiked hundreds of miles. In 1952, Labelle graduated from this university with a master’s degree in architecture.

Her first job was Kaiser Engineers. She later went to Ghana, where she helped build the Akosombo Dam. A few years later, she received a professorship at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. Work in Africa pushed her to a deeper study of the culture and architecture of local peoples.

During her long career, Prussin has taught in various positions at various educational institutions. In the 70s of the 20th century, she worked at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Michigan. She then traveled to Asia. Late in her career, Prussin became an honorary professor at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban.

The scientist has at least 2 children. That’s how many of them were at the moment when she went to Ghana. However, other details of personal and family life remain unknown.

Books and Scientific Work

Labelle Prussin has written dozens of books and even more scientific articles. One of her bestsellers is Hatumere: Islamic Design in West Africa (1986). Her fundamental work African nomadic architecture: space, place, and gender (1995) has been reprinted many times.

All her research is based not on the study of the works of other authors, but on empirical material. Each book is the result of many years of field research. In addition to architecture, Labelle often touches on the gender distribution of labor in African tribes. In many places, the construction of dwellings is the responsibility of women, so the scientist was interested in whether they feel they are architects. This approach to the problem was undoubtedly innovative.