Carolyn Louise Baylies, was an American academic and activist. She was particularly active in the fields of health and sociology of the third world and international development, and especially on the gendered aspects of development. Baylies was particularly notable for her work on the ways in which the AIDS epidemic threatened existing social structures and food security, a connection which she was one of the first to make.
Early life
Baylies was born in Texas and grew up in California.
Education and career
After completing her undergraduate degree in sociology at Berkeley in 1969, she completed a doctorate on Zambian class relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was awarded in 1978. Following this she took a teaching post at the University of Zambia, during which time she also undertook research on the trade union movement and labour policies. In 1980 Baylies joined the School of Economic Studies at the University of Leeds as a research fellow studying the history of the Yorkshire Miners Association, a subject on which she published a book in 1993 entitled 'History of the Yorkshire Miners, 1881-1918'. Her academic pursuits were valued by the University of Leeds, in 1983 she became a lecturer, in 1993, a senior lecturer, and in 2003, Reader in the sociology of developing countries. Her work at the university also included her involvement in the founding of the Centre for Development Studies of which she served as a director for two terms. Baylies also helped to shape the University of Leeds' interdisciplinary Master of Arts course in Development Studies, expanding the capacity for postgraduate research in the field. Baylies was also involved in the Review of African Political Economy, which she helped to found. She served as a member of ROAPE's editorial working group for over 20 years. Baylies was married to fellow University of Leeds academic, Dr. Morris Szeftel with whom she coauthored the book 'The Dynamics of the One-Party State in Zambia', published in 1984. Baylies and Szeftel had two children. Baylies died from cancer on 1 November 2003.
Baylies, C. and Bujra, J. 'Discourses of power and empowerment in the fight against AIDS in Africa' in P Aggleton, P Davies and G Hart, AIDS Safety, Sexuality and Risk, London: Taylor & Francis, 140-222
Baylies, C. 1996. 'Diversity in patterns of parenting and household formation' in E Silva, Good Enough Mothering?, London: Routledge, 119-148
Baylies, C., Bujra, J. et al. 1997. 'Rebels at risk: young women and the shadow of AIDS' in C Becker, J-P Dozon, C Obbo and M Toure, Experiencing and Understanding AIDS in Africa, Dakar and Paris: Codesria/ Editions Karthala/ IRD, 319-341
Baylies, C. 1986. 'The meaning of health in Africa', Review of African Political Economy, 36:62-73
Baylies, C. and Szeftel, M. 1992. 'The fall and rise of multi-party politics in Zambia' Review of African Political Economy, 54:75-91
Baylies, C. and Wright, C. 1993. 'Female labour in the clothing and textile industry in Lesotho' African Affairs, 92,369:577-591
Baylies, C. 1995 'Political conditionality and democratisation' Review of African Political Economy, 22, 65: 321-337
Baylies, C. and Szeftel, M. 1997. 'The 1996 Zambian elections: still awaiting democratic consolidation?' Review of African Political Economy, 24, 71: 113-128
Baylies, C. and Bujra, J. 1997. 'Social science research on AIDS in Africa - questions of content, methodology and ethics' Review of African Political Economy, 24, 73: 280-288
Baylies, C. 1999. 'International partnership in the fight against AIDS: addressing need and redressing injustice?' Review of African Political Economy, 26, 81: 387-394
