معرفی
Kwame Essien is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Lehigh University's College of Arts and Sciences, specializing in African Diaspora studies with emphasis on Ghana, Brazil, and Atlantic World connections.
Education:
- Ph.D., History & African Diaspora, University of Texas-Austin, 2010
- M.A., African Studies, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, 2006
- B.A., History, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 2002
His research examines comparative slavery histories, reverse migrations, and cultural exchanges across the African Diaspora. Key projects investigate Brazilian returnees in Ghana (Tabom people), African American expatriates, herbal medicine histories, and homosexuality in Africa, blending archival analysis with ethnographic fieldwork to explore memory, identity, and colonial legacies.
Essien's publications reveal consistent focus on Ghanaian returnee communities through journal articles and book chapters. His work analyzes trans-Atlantic memory practices, silences in diaspora histories, and cultural resilience among Brazilian-Africans and African Americans in Ghana, utilizing interdisciplinary methodologies to address identity formation and postcolonial dynamics.
Scientific Awards:
- Lehigh University Alfred Noble Robinson Faculty Award (2017)
- Graduate Student Senate Certificate of Participation for mentoring (2018)
- Derrick K. Gondwe Fellowship at Gettysburg College (2009-2011)
As a dedicated mentor, Essien chairs graduate committees for African, African American, and transnational history dissertations while securing significant funding including a $100,000 Accelerator Grant (2017) studying medical volunteer missions in Ghana. He led study abroad programs for 70+ students to Ghana and collaborated on NEH Challenge grants raising $1.2 million for Africana Studies.
Essien pioneered virtual reality documentation of Ghana's slave forts and historical sites for classroom use, collaborating with LVAIC consortium faculty and Northampton Community College on interdisciplinary projects examining African history, diaspora studies, and experiential learning methodologies.
