Vanessa Wan de Loitte

Vanessa Wan de Loitte (born 17 January 1949, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian anthropologist who specializes in the social structure of primitive civilizations in Central Africa. Her work in the Dioula Language is internationally recognized.

Wan de Loitte was born in Richmond Hill, a suburb north of Toronto, Canada. After studying at Yale University, she travelled to Burkina Faso (1979-1985) and Chad (1985-1988) to conduct fieldwork into the workings of the native languages and societies there, serving as the inspiration for her memoir In the Heart of Africa (1993).

In 1994, she became a director of education in Burkina Faso, and in 2001 moved to Waterloo, Canada, to become professor of social anthropology, where she still teaches African studies at the University of Waterloo. The township of Wan in Burkina Faso was renamed in recognition for her work in 2002.

Work

In the Heart of Africa (1993).
The Dioula Language (1996).
 
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