About

I primarily research the slave trade and its impacts on pre-colonial Ghana with a focus on the state of Denkyira between the 16th and 18th centuries. My work centers on Gold Coast history before the rise of Asante, positing that in the 16th and 17th centuries, Denkyira was the eminent power in the region. Through the use of archival documents and oral histories, I will examine the connections between slave trading and Denkyira’s autocratic rule.

My research on slavery often stretches through time and reaches as far back as Classical Greece and Rome. I have found myself many times compelled to re-examine the human relationship with slavery to contextualize the sheer impact that the Atlantic slave trade had on the making of the Modern World. Beyond my primary research in Africa, I focus on the comparative study of slavery within the Classical Mediterranean World, as well as the perceptions of Africa and Africans in Early Modern France.

My research is supported by a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship funded by the U.S. Department of Education for studying Twi. I also sit on the SOAS, University of London Regional Advisory Committee for the Global Council on Anthropological Linguistics (GLOCAL). My roles include advising on the regional appropriation of activities and recommending ways in which to assist regionally bounded organizations and institutions.

My alter ego, Segun Emeka, writes Science Fiction, mainly within the Afro-futuristic, Cyberpunk, and Space Opera genres.