About

Gertrude Aba Mansah Eyifa-Dzidzienyo is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies. She teaches and specializes in Museum and Heritage Studies areas such as collections management, curating, exhibition design and education, indigenous heritage management and preservation, and gender issues in archaeology. She is a Curator of the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Ghana. She has research and teaching experience in field archaeology, cultural heritage restitution, exhibition development and cultural heritage management.

Education

• PhD in Archaeology, University of Ghana, December 2016
• MPhil in Archaeology, University of Ghana, December 2007
• BA in Archaeology and Study of Religions, University of Ghana, May 2004

Research Interest

• Exploring inequalities in fieldwork
• Making museums relevant through exhibitions and education
• Issues of cultural heritage restitution
• Exploring the impacts of museum and heritage studies

Course Taught

• Introduction to Museum Studies
• Collections Management
• Exhibition Development and Management
• Curatorship and Exhibition Development
• Gender in Archaeology 

Publications

Book Chapters

• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M. (2024). Expression of Talensi Cultural Identity and Heritage through the Celebration of Gologo Festival. In, Akurang-Parry, K. O. & Biveridge, F. (Eds.), History, Culture and Heritage of Ghana – Essays in Honour of Professor Robert Addo-Fening(pp. 297 – 326). Mankon: Langaa Research & Publishing CIG. DOI: 10.2307/jj.19458598.12
• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M. (2022). Archaeology displays in universities: The role of museums and archaeology displays in Ghana. In Stevenson, A. (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Museum Archaeology (pp. 489-500). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M. (2014). The role of Museums in Education: The Case of the Museum of Archaeology, University of Ghana. In, Anquandah, J., Kankpeyeng, B. and Apoh, W. (Eds.) Current Perspectives in the Archaeology of Ghana (pp. 293–311). University of Ghana Readers, Ghana: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M., & Kankpeyeng, B. (2014). Gender in Archaeology: A Ghanaian Perspective. In, Anquandah, J., Kankpeyeng, B. and Apoh, W. (Eds.) Current Perspectives in the Archaeology of Ghana (pp. 110–122). University of Ghana Readers, Ghana: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
• Kankpeyeng, B., Eyifa, G. A. M., Insoll, T., & MacLean, R. (2013). Heritage Management in Tengzug. Conceptions and Challenges. In, Insoll, T., MacLean, R., and Kankpeyeng, B.W. (Eds.) Temporalising Anthropology. Archaeology in the Talensi Tong Hills, Northern Ghana (pp. 209–216). Africa Magn Verlag. 

Book Review

• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G.A.M. (2021). Amanda L. Logan: The Scarcity Slot: Excavating Histories of Food Security in Ghana. Afr Archaeol Rev 38, 535–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-021-09450-w

Refereed Journals 

• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M., & Nkumbaan, S. N. (2020). Looted and Illegally acquired African objects in European Museums: Issues of Restitution and Repatriation in Ghana. Contemporary Journal of African Studies (CJAS) 7(1),87–100, https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/contjas.v7i1.6 Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.
• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M. (2012). Social Construction and the Invisible Gender roles in Talensi House Construction. EAZ- Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift (International Journal of Ethnography and Archaeology of the University of München Berlin), 53(1/2), 86–101. Waxmann.
• Eyifa, G. A. M. (2010-2011). Gender Representations in Death and Burial Rituals: Perspectives from some Cultural Groups in Ghana. West African Journal of Archaeology (WAJA), 40 & 41(1&2), 35–48.

Working paper

• Eyifa-Dzidzienyo, G. A. M., Michels S., Azamede, K., Doll, M., & Zollmann, J.  (2023). Restitution, Return, Repatriation and Reparation (The 4Rs) in Africa: Reality or Transcultural Aphasia?, MIASA Working Paper No 2, online: http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/41646

Other Information:

• Visiting Scholar at the University of Calgary, Canada, through the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships:Advanced Scholars -West Africa (QES-AS-WA) from March 29 – July 4, 2024.
• Senior Fellow of the Merian Institute of Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), Interdisciplinary Fellow Group 5 (IFG5) from 1st Sept. – 31st Dec. 2021.

Professional Association Membership 

• Association for Art History                                                                    2024 to date
• International Council of Museums (ICOM) Ghana Chapter               2021 to date
• West African Archaeological Association (W.A.A.A)                         2016 to date
• Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA)                                      2013 to date