African Studies Welcomes Kwame Edwin Otu as Director

As we begin a new academic year, the African Studies Program extends our gratitude to Professor Lahra Smith for her dedicated leadership and service as the Director of the African Studies Program since 2020. We are deeply grateful for the care, vision, and commitment she brought to the African Studies community.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Kwame Edwin Otu as the new Director of the African Studies Program. Professor Otu is an Associate Professor of African Anthropology whose research examines questions of race, sexuality, environmental issues, public health, and African and African diasporic life. His acclaimed first book, Amphibious Subjects: Sasso and the Contested Politics of Queer Self-Making in Neoliberal Ghana, explores queer self-making and politics in Ghana. His current research examines the paradoxical politics of waste, especially e-waste production, and how it shapes African lives. In this project, Professor Otu examines life among a community of e-waste workers on an e-waste dumping site in Accra, Ghana.

As Professor Otu begins his tenure as Director, we invite members of our community to read his Director’s Message to learn more about his vision for the African Studies Program and the work ahead.

We thank Professor Smith for her leadership and look forward to this next chapter of the African Studies Program under Professor Otu’s direction.