Bala Saho

Bala Saho is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma's Department of History, housed within the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a PhD in African History from Michigan State University, an MA in African Studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a BA in History from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. His research focuses on West African religious, legal, and social history, with particular attention to women's agency, colonial legal systems, and cultural constructions of identity. His monograph *Contours of Change: Muslim Courts, Women, and Islamic Society in Colonial Bathurst, the Gambia, 1905–1965* (2018) examines women's engagement with colonial legal frameworks. He is currently writing *Ritualizing the Womb: The Peril of Childless (Kañeleng) Women in The Gambia*, exploring how childless women's associations reshape Gambian perceptions of womanhood and fertility.

Professor Saho teaches courses on African Civilization, post-1945 Africa, Muslim Societies in Africa, and the Atlantic Slave Trade. His work bridges Atlantic, world, and African historiographies, emphasizing transnational connections. Before joining OU, he served as Director General of The Gambia’s National Centre for Arts and Culture and Director of its Oral History Archive.

His research articles analyze topics such as forced marriage dynamics in West Africa, Djibouti’s colonial history, and ritual practices among childless women. Though no formal awards are listed, his scholarship contributes significantly to understanding marginalized voices in colonial and postcolonial contexts.

His academic profile reflects active engagement with both university teaching and national cultural institutions, though specific grants or lab affiliations are not detailed in the provided texts.