Sylvia Chant Lecture Series
The Sylvia Chant Lecture Series honours the life, work, and legacy of Professor Sylvia Chant (1960–2019), a pioneering scholar of Development Geography and a global authority in Gender and Development.
Sylvia Chant spent her career advancing understandings of gendered poverty, urban livelihoods, and social policy, and she was a beloved member of the LSE Department of Geography and Environment for over three decades.
About the series
Created in memory of Professor Chant, the series showcases cutting-edge research and critical debates on gender, development, urbanisation, and social justice. Each event brings together leading scholars, practitioners, and students to reflect on the themes that defined Sylvia’s work and continue to shape global development agendas.
About Sylvia Chant
Sylvia was an internationally recognised figure in gender and development. Her research spanned Mexico, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and The Gambia, where she conducted extensive fieldwork on gendered poverty, household dynamics, migration, and urban life.
She held visiting professorships in Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, and contributed her expertise to numerous global development organisations.
Events in the series
Agents of change? The challenges of understanding empowerment through international development
Monday 31 March 2025
Speaker: Professor Jo Sharp
Engaging the global urban agenda: from the south
Wednesday 6 December 2023
Speaker: Professor Susan Parnell
Painful truths: resisting gendered violence against women
Tuesday 15 March 2022
Speaker: Professor Cathy McIlwaine
Gender and COVID-19: a feminist economics lens
Thursday 18 February 2021
Speaker: Professor Naila Kabeer
Highlights from past lectures
