Chinua Akimaro Thelwell
Associate Professor of Africana Studies & History (Director)
Office:
Blair 354
Email:
[[cathelwell]]
Regional Areas of Research:
Ancient to Modern Africa, United States
Thematic Areas of Research:
African American, Comparative and Transnational, Cultural/Intellectual, Diaspora and Migration, Popular Culture and Media, Race and Ethnicity
Background
Dr. Chinua Akimaro Thelwell received his PhD from the American Studies Program at New York University in 2011. As a result of his interdisciplinary training, and moments of experiential learning outside of classroom settings, Thelwell has developed a wide range of teaching and research interests. These interests include: Afro-diasporic history, history of the idea of race, blackface minstrelsy as a popular culture export, performance studies, post-colonial hybridity theory, Asian American history, and hip-hop studies.
Research & Publication
His research focuses on performance as hegemonic and counter-hegemonic race discourse. His first book, an edited anthology titled Theater and Cultural Politics for a New World, was published by Routledge in 2016. His second book, a monograph titled Exporting Jim Crow: Blackface Minstrelsy in South Africa and Beyond, was published by University of Massachusetts Press in Spring 2020. This book was named a finalist in ASWAD’s Outstanding First Book competition in 2021. His writing appears in The Drama Review, Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies, Global Nineteenth-Century Studies, Miami Herald, and African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs.
Course Offerings
AFST 205: Intro to Africana StudiesAPIA 315/Hist 315: Asian Pacific American History
AFST 335: History of Hip-Hop
AFST 399: Research Methodologies in Africana Studies
