On September 24, award-winning scholar and Ghanaian writer Peace Adzo Medie visited the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice to discuss the power of creativity for social change.
Peace Adzo Medie is the author of two novels, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice His Only Wife and Nightbloom, which was longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Medie is an Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Bristol in England. Her non-fiction book, Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa, was a finalist for the Conflict Research Society Book of the Year Prize.
As both an academic researcher and fiction writer, Medie shared valuable insights that all changemakers can learn from by sharing her own journey as a writer.
Kroc School student Kelsey Coney and author Peace Adzo Medie
First, Medie engaged with University of San Diego students, staff, and faculty at a roundtable conversation moderated by Kroc School student Kelsey Coney. During the discussion, Medie emphasized that creativity allows us to imagine new solutions to the problems we face in society.
At the roundtable, Medie also discussed how as both an academic researcher and fiction writer, she explores themes from her research in the fiction she writes. Her process for academic writing and fiction writing differs–academic writing starts from literature reviews and understanding the existing scholarship on the topic, while fiction writing ideas can appear at any time while spending time in nature or even on your way to the pharmacy.
Peace Adzo Medie delivers a Distinguished Lecture
Then as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, Medie delivered her keynote talk in which she shared her journey as a writer and the mindset shifts that happened along the way. After reading 100 Years of Solitude, Medie went from writing to entertain herself to writing to make readers think deeply.
Watch the event recording on our YouTube here.
The next shift came while writing her first novel, His Only Wife, which is set in Ghana where she grew up. At first, she focused on how non-Africans would view Africa in her writing. Later, she shifted her focus to how other Ghanaian women would feel seeing themselves represented in her writing.
Inspired by her research on violence against women, Medie focused her second novel, Nightbloom, on how survivors of violence can tell their stories and feel heard.
Overall, Medie emphasized that individuals can use creativity to construct narratives of their own realities, then use these narratives to demand social change.
Kroc School Dean Darren Kew and author Peace Adzo Medie
Following the lecture, Kroc School Dean Darren Kew moderated an audience Q&A session with Medie. Medie shared more about her creative process, pushing back against myths and falsehoods, the role of academics, and more. If you missed the Distinguished Lecture event, watch the recording.
Peace Adzo Medie shows that you don’t have to choose just one path–there are many different ways to be a changemaker.
To learn about more changemakers, join us for our next event: A Conversation With the Women PeaceMakers on Thursday, November 14 at 6:00 pm in the Peace and Justice Theatre at the University of San Diego. Register for the event.