Africana Studies

Abou B. Bamba

Professor

Africana Studies

Contact

Box

Campus Box 0401

Address

Weidensall Hall
Room 215
300 North Washington St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325-1400

Education

PhD Georgia State University, 2008
Other Georgia State University, Graduate Certificate in GIS, 2008
MA Université d'Abidjan-Cocody, 1996
BA Université d'Abidjan-Cocody, 1995

Academic Focus

Colonialism/Decolonization; Development/Modernization; Francophone Africa; U.S.-Africa Relations

Abou B. Bamba teaches Africa-related courses in the Africana Studies program and the History Department. Originally from Ivory Coast, Prof. Bamba was fascinated by foreign cultures early in life. This interest initially led him to concentrate on the study of foreign languages (English and Spanish) in college. Subsequently, he earned a Master's degree in American Studies from the Université d’Abidjan-Cocody in Ivory Coast. In the United States, he earned a certificate in Geographic Information Science (Geosciences) and a PhD in History, both from Georgia State University in Atlanta.

 Prof. Bamba has conducted historical investigations in Ivory Coast, the United States, and France. His research has externally been supported by the Fulbright Commission, the JFK Foundation, the LBJ Foundation, and the French Embassy in the United States. His current work focuses on post-1945 transnational histories of modernization, U.S.-Africa relations, migration/expatriation, and the search for the "good life".

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Book

  • African Miracle, African Mirage: Transnational Politics and the Paradox of Modernization in Ivory Coast. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2016.

Selected Articles:

  • “‘Mightier Than Marx’: Hassoldt Davis and American Cold War Politics in Postwar Ivory Coast.” International History Review 41, 6 (2019): 1123-1144.
  • “Producing an Imperial Bridgehead: The Making of Abidjan in Ivory Coast, 1908-1955.” World History Connected 13, 1 (February 2016).
  • “Conspicuous, Yet Invisible: Whiteness, Migration, and the French Residents of Ivory Coast, 1950-1985.” Journal of Modern European History 13, 4 (2015): 549-565.
  • “An Unconventional Challenge to Apartheid: The Ivorian Dialogue Diplomacy with South Africa, 1960-1978.” International Journal of African Historical Studies 47, 1 (2014): 77-99.
  • “Transnationalising Decolonisation: The Print Media, American Public Spheres, and France’s Imperial Exit in West Africa.” Journal of Transatlantic Studies 11, 4 (Fall 2013): 327-49.
  • “At the Edge of the Modern? Diplomacy, Public Relations, and Media Practices during Houphouët-Boigny’s 1962 Visit to the U.S.” Diplomacy & Statecraft 22, 2 (Summer 2011): 219-238.
  • “Mémoires épistémiques et pouvoir d’experts dans une postcolonie africaine: Le cas de l’usage des savoirs africanistes par l’ORSTOM en Côte d’Ivoire.” Canadian Journal of African Studies 44, 1 (Summer 2010): 1-34.
  • “Rebirth of a Strategic Continent? Problematizing Africa as a Geostrategic Zone.” African Geographical Review 29, 1 (June 2010): 91-100.

Courses Taught