Graduate Program Alumni Alumni of the Graduate Program in the Department of African and African American Studies

Mia L. Bagneris Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in History of Art and Architecture Class of 2009 Mia Bagneris received her PhD in African and African American Studies in November 2009, and she is now teaching at Tulane University in African & African Diaspora Studies. Her dissertation, Coloring the Caribbean: Agostino Brunias... more about Mia L. Bagneris

Peter Geller Ph.D. in African American Studies, with a primary field in Government Class of 2012 Peter Geller is a doctoral student in African American Studies, having earned a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University. His research interests include black political thought, theories of justice, conceptions of race and racism, and... more about Peter Geller

Lyndon Gill Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in Anthropology and a secondary field in Studies of Women, Gender & Sexuality Class of 2010 Lyndon K. Gill was born in New York City and raised on all the Trinbagonian culture Jamaica, Queens would allow. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a B.A. in African & African American Studies. He received his Ph.D. in... more about Lyndon Gill

Wendy Elizabeth Grant Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in English Class of 2009 Wendy E. Grant received her B.A and M.Phil degrees in French and French Caribbean Literature respectively from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. She was also awarded the A.M degree in English and American Literature and Language... more about Wendy Elizabeth Grant

Meghan Healy Ph.D. in African Studies, with a primary field in History Class of 2011 Meghan Healy-Clancy holds a Ph.D. in African Studies (2011) and an M.A. in History (2007) from Harvard University, where she now teaches in the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature and in Social Studies. She has published several... more about Meghan Healy

Michael P. Jeffries Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in Sociology Class of 2008 Michael P. Jeffries is Sidney R. Knafel Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at Wellesley College, where he teaches courses on American popular culture and the politics of race and ethnicity. His first book, Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the... more about Michael P. Jeffries

Cameron Leader-Picone Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in English Class of 2009 Cameron Leader-Picone is currently Assistant Professor of English at Kansas State University. He has taught in the Harvard Writing Program and at Ithaca College. He is currently working on a book on contemporary African American Literature and... more about Cameron Leader-Picone

Carla Martin Ph.D. in African Studies, with a primary field in Anthropology Class of 2012 Carla D. Martin is a Harvard College Fellow in the Department of African and African American Studies. A social anthropologist with interdisciplinary interests that include history, ethnomusicology, and linguistics, she received her Ph.D. in... more about Carla Martin

Amber Moulton Ph.D. in African American Studies, with a primary field in History Class of 2011 Amber Moulton is Assistant Professor of US History, Race and Ethnicity at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She received her B.A. from Gettysburg College in 2002, A.M. in History from Harvard in 2007, and Ph.D. in African American Studies... more about Amber Moulton

Laura Murphy Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in English Class of 2008 Laura Murphy is Assistant Professor of global literatures in the Department of English at Loyola University New Orleans, where she researches and teaches courses on African literature, postcolonial studies, and modern day slavery. She is also a... more about Laura Murphy

Jennifer Christine Nash Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in Sociology Class of 2009 Jennifer Christine Nash (Ph.D. 2009) is Assistant Professor of American Studies and Women's Studies at George Washington University where she researches and teaches in the areas of black feminisms, black sexual politics, race and law, and the... more about Jennifer Christine Nash

Cameron Van Patterson Ph.D. in African American Studies, with a primary field in History of Art and Architecture Class of 2012 Cameron Van Patterson earned his Ph.D. in African and African American Studies with a focus in the History of Art and Architecture from Harvard University in 2012. His academic research examines the complex relationship between artistic practices... more about Cameron Van Patterson

Chérie Rivers Ndaliko Ph.D. in African Studies, with a primary field in Music Class of 2012 Chérie Rivers Ndaliko is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she researches and teaches on radical arts interventions in conflict regions of Africa.  She is the founder and faculty... more about Chérie Rivers Ndaliko

Josef Sorett Ph.D. in African and African American Studies, with a primary field in Religion Class of 2008 Josef (pronounced Yo-sef) Sorett is an assistant professor of Religion and African-American Studies at Columbia University.  He is an interdisciplinary historian of religion in America, with a particular focus on black communities and... more about Josef Sorett

Undergraduate Program Alumni Alumni of the Undergraduate Program in the Department of African and African American Studies

Chimaobi Amutah African Studies Class of 2007 Chimaobi spent time teaching social studies and mathematics at the middle and high school levels for a variety of public, charter, and private educational districts and organizations directly after college. He now works in education policy in his... more about Chimaobi Amutah

Tonia Branche African American Studies with pre-med track Class of 2010 Currently, I am a first year medical student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the new MD/MPH program.  It is a rigorous 4-year dual degree track that integrates medicine and public health, including a focus on problem-... more about Tonia Branche

Sangu Delle African Studies with a Secondary Field in Economics Class of 2010 Mr. Delle is currently working as an Investment Professional at Valiant Capital Partners, an investment firm in San Francisco. He has co-authored and published Contemporary Africa through Poetry, which will be out at the end of September... more about Sangu Delle

Oluwadara Johnson African American Studies Class of 2010 Since 2008, Oluwadara (Dara) Johnson has been working to improve educational opportunities for the underprivileged children in Nigeria via Project Unveil, a social enterprise that she founded, which uses performing arts to empower and educate... more about Oluwadara Johnson

Jarell Lee Sociology and African American Studies Class of 2010 I am a senior from Cleveland, OH, pursuing a joint degree in Sociology and African American Studies. Currently, I am writing a senior thesis investigating the impact hip-hop had in influencing young Black men to support Barack Obama in the 2008... more about Jarell Lee

Naseemah Mohamed Social Studies and African Studies Class of 2012 As a Harvard Michael C. Rockefeller Fellow Naseemah Mohamed ’12 is currently learning Bharatnatyam (Indian classical dance) at Kalamandalam Arts University in Kerala, India. more about Naseemah Mohamed

Elizabeth Nowak African Studies with a Secondary Field in Chemistry Class of 2010 I am a rising senior concentrating in African Studies with a secondary field in Chemistry. I am interested in issues of public health and medical anthropology, specifically how sciences and technologies are transferred to African countries. I am... more about Elizabeth Nowak

Ayodeji Ogunnaike African Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Class of 2010 I am a senior pursuing a joint-degree with African Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations interested in traditional African religions and languages. I am particularly fascinated by the lessons and knowledge that are often overlooked... more about Ayodeji Ogunnaike

José Guadalupe Olivarez African American Studies Class of 2010 José Olivarez is a teaching artist for Young Chicago Authors, a writing organization that hosts the largest youth poetry slam in the world every February and March (... more about José Guadalupe Olivarez

Hamida Owusu African Studies with a Secondary Field in Government Class of 2010 Hamida graduated from the College in 2010 and concentrated in African Studies with a secondary field in Government. While at Harvard, her interests ranged from interfaith relations on the continent to the mobilization of vernacular languages as a... more about Hamida Owusu

Iman Taylor Sociology and African and African-American Studies Class of 2012 Founder of Project MUSE more about Iman Taylor

Katherine Thompson African Studies with a Secondary Field in Government Class of 2010 As an African Studies concentrator with a secondary field in Government, I used the perspective of linguistic anthropology to study hiphop music in urban northern Nigeria. I focused on the micropolitics of language and identity among urban youth... more about Katherine Thompson

D.A. Wallach African Studies Class of 2008 D.A. Wallach is best known as one-half of Chester French, a critically-acclaimed duo discovered by Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. An ‘07 graduate of Harvard College, D.A. has been featured in GQ, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and... more about D.A. Wallach

Tatiana Wilson African Studies Class of 2010 I am finishing up my final semester as an African Studies concentrator. My main interests lie in the creative arts, education, childhood development and religion. I had the opportunity to study in Mali with a musician and his dance troupe, as... more about Tatiana Wilson