Lorelle Semley

Lorelle Semley is a Professor of History and Director of the African and African Diaspora Studies program at Boston College. She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and specializes in West African history, the African diaspora, and the Atlantic world. Her research focuses on race, gender, legal history, urban history, and Black French Studies. She currently leads a book project on African and Caribbean communities in Bordeaux from 18th to 20th centuries, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Council of Learned Societies.

Her notable publications include To Be Free and French: Citizenship in France’s Atlantic Empire (Cambridge, 2017), co-winning the Bentley Book Prize, and Mother Is Gold, Father Is Glass: Gender and Colonialism in a Yoruba Town (Indiana, 2011). Her work bridges historical analysis with interdisciplinary frameworks, addressing themes like citizenship, colonialism, and diasporic identity.

Professor Semley’s research and teaching emphasize connections between Africa, its diasporas, and global networks. She has contributed to debates on Atlantic history, gender studies, and postcolonial memory through over 20 peer-reviewed articles and edited volumes. Her recent work explores Afropolitan identity, urban histories of colonial port cities, and the intersection of law and gender in French colonial contexts.