Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology & History
About
Moving beyond the multiple catastrophes that have earned eastern DRC a place in the global spotlight, I examine an aspect of the region’s history that journalists and academics often overlook. Taking the region’s current banana blight as an entry point into a wider exploration of social change, I am deeply curious how colonization, regional politics, and the changing environment contributed to Idjwi Island’s increased marginalization over the twentieth century. These developments have eroded the personal mobility, long-distance trade, and banana-based economy that characterized life in the precolonial era. Beyond simply tracing these transformations, I am interested in exploring their impact on gender relations, vernacular religion, and the wider moral economy through ethnographic research.
Awards
Hazel L. Edgerly History Prize (Smith College, 2012)
John Petropulos History Prize (Amherst College, 2012)
Highest Honors Thesis (Smith College History Department, 2012)
Research Areas(s)
- African Great Lakes history, colonial to postcolonial era
- Environmental anthropology
- religion
Affiliation(s)
- Department of Anthropology
- Department of History
- African Studies Center
Field(s) of Study
- African Great Lakes history, colonial to postcolonial era
- Environmental anthropology
- religion