Emily Lynn Osborn is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Chicago, specializing in African history with a focus on precolonial and colonial West Africa. She holds a PhD from Stanford University and a BA from UC Berkeley. Her research explores gender, technology transfer, colonialism, and the Anthropocene in African contexts. Education: PhD in History, Stanford University, 2000 AB, University of California, Berkeley Research Interests: Osborn’s work bridges historical analysis with interdisciplinary themes such as gender and statecraft, technology diffusion, and environmental history. She has published extensively on topics like the role of intermediaries in colonial rule, the cultural significance of color in the Atlantic world, and the Anthropocene in Africa. Her current book project examines artisans and technology transfer in West Africa. Awards and Fellowships: Quantrell Award for Excellence in Teaching (2016) Fulbright IIE and Fulbright-Hays Fellowships American Council of Learned Societies and Social Science Research Council grants Affiliations: Osborn serves as Faculty Director of the Senegal study abroad program and the Social Sciences Postdoctoral Teaching Fellows program. She is affiliated with the Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, and the Center for International Social Science Research. Teaching: She teaches courses on African history, gender studies, and the Atlantic world, emphasizing oral history, slavery, and interdisciplinary approaches to the Anthropocene.
