I am a Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where I direct the MIT Global Diversity Lab, and I am the faculty director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), the institute’s hub for international education. I hold the Total Chair on the study of Contemporary Africa.
In my research and teaching, I study the democratic politics of governing ethnically and racially diverse societies, including with respect to the challenges of public health, climate adaptation, and ensuring respect for human dignity. I use original field work, experiments, comparative-historical analysis, and other empirical approaches. I also write and teach about research methods and strategies. Much of my work is focused on the African continent, and I am faculty director of the MIT-Africa program.
My book, Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid, published by Princeton University Press, was launched in the U.S. in June 2022, and will be available in the U.K. in late August. You can purchase it at Amazon and many independent booksellers.
If you are interested in taking my online course, “Democracy and Development: Perspectives from Africa,” you can enroll in the archived version now: https://www.edx.org/course/democracy-development-perspectives-mitx-17-571x..
