I am a historian of Africa whose research focuses on twentieth-century histories of health, science, and medicine. My research lies at the intersection of scholarship on healing in Africa and the field of science and technology studies in the global south. My dissertation “Scientists, Healers and Bioprospectors: the Politics of Therapeutic Knowledge in Ethiopia, 1945-1990” investigates local efforts to study, develop and regulate traditional medicine in Ethiopia. I combined ethnographic techniques with an analysis of archival material from the Ministry of Health in order to situate Ethiopia in both its local and global contexts and understand why “traditional medicine” became a national priority when it did.
In addition to research, I also teach graduate and undergraduate History courses. Teaching African history is particularly rewarding because it provides me with the unique opportunity to introduce students to the diverse methods historians use to research the past in the absence of written documents. It also gives me a chance to engage students in conversations about the relationship between colonialism, anti-Black racism, and popular misconceptions about Africa and its diasporas. I enjoy learning from my students as much as I enjoy seeing them learn.