African Studies Association (ASA) Annual Meeting; San Francisco, CA

Conference: 2023 African Studies Association (ASA) Annual Meeting; San Francisco, CA
November 30 – December 2, 2023

Presentation:  “Tom Mboya, Democracy and the Women of the East African Airlift, 1959-1964”

REPORT:

In the fall, I attended the 66th Annual Conference of the African Studies Association (ASA) was held in San Francisco, CA between November 30th to December 2nd, 2023. The theme for the ASA conference was “African Presences: Envisioning Africa in Text and Deed”. With support of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, I was able to attend and present at this year’s conference as part of a panel organized by my advisor, Prof. Paul Ocobock (Department of History).

The panel, held on December 2nd, 2023 was entitled “Kenya, Decolonization, and US Imperialism”, which featured a range of papers focused on the linkages between Kenya and the United States as the former colony decolonized. My co-panelists included Prof. Prof. Ocobock, Chepchirchir Tirop (Stanford University) and Prof. Dawson McCall (Loyola University, New
Orleans).

My paper focused on uncovering the histories of the various women, both in Kenya and the United States that operated and participated in the East African Airlift, an education scheme founded by Kenyan nationalist and trade unionist, Tom Mboya. As independence approached, the scheme was established in 1959 to educate a cadre of technocrats in North America and who would return to Africanize the Kenyan civil service. Here, relying on archival research and oral histories, I argue that their participation demonstrated the inclusivity of the Airlift but a larger vision of a progressive democracy in Kenya at the dawn of independence.

The conference experience was enjoyable and supportive of the research I am currently doing as I finalize my next steps in finalizing my dissertation proposal and preparing for field work. First, I was able to network, both within Kellogg’s formal events at ASA but also outside, with scholars in my field as well those focused on Kenyan decolonization in particular. Closer to home, I received invaluable feedback on my presentation and made further linkages with attendees that are also focused on areas related to my own research topic. This year, in particular, was very exciting to witness the large presence and support from Kellogg and Notre Dame.