Research Interests
My current research focuses on urbanization, development, and race in Mozambique during the 1960s. I am writing a book on these themes, focusing on the history of the Mozambican city of Beira in the 1960s, which examines debates over Mozambique's future through letters and news coverage published in the city's African newspaper, Voz Africana. My other scholarly interests include the history of forced labor, the history of colonial punishment, and the history of decolonization. I am also interested in methodological questions around the connections between public history, historical memory, and the work of academic historians.
Biography
I am an associate professor of history who studies modern southern Africa. I am originally from Washington, DC (the city itself, not Maryland or Virginia!), and I became interested in the history of southern Africa after studying abroad at the University of Cape Town. Prior to working at the University of Mississippi, I earned a BA from Wesleyan University and a PhD from Princeton University.
Publications
"Race and Labor in Beira during the Era of Imperial Reform" (Journal of Portuguese History)
"'This Was Being Done Only to Help': Development and Forced Labor in Barue (International Journal of Labor and Working Class History)
"Forced Volunteers: The Contradictions of Coercion in Central Mozambique" (International Journal of African Historical Studies)
“Histories of Mobility, Histories of Labor, Histories of Africa” (African Economic History)
Education
M.A. History, Princeton University (2010)
Ph.D. History, Princeton University (2014)