Name: Matt Carotenuto (Assistant Professor)

Education:

Ph.D. Indiana University, 2006 (African History)

Dissertation: “Cultivating an African Community: The Luo Union in 20th century East Africa”

Minor Fields: African Studies, African Diaspora

M.A., Indiana University, 2001 (History and African Studies)

B.A., SUNY Cortland, 1999 (History)

Spring Semester Abroad in East Africa, St. Lawrence University, 1998

Course Offerings: (African History)

Africa’s Past and Present

Colonial Africa

African Identities

The City in Africa

Conflict in Africa

Research Interests: 20th century East Africa (especially Kenya). Ethnicity, nationalism and gender in African history and the African diaspora.

Selected Publications:

"African Cities in the Age of Colonialism," and "Rwanda" in, Encyclopedia of World History. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Forthcoming--2008).

"Kenya." in, Encyclopedia of Children's Issues Worldwide. (Westport, CT. Greenwood Press--Forthcoming, 2007) 

“Riwruok e Teko: Cultivating Identity in Colonial and Post-Colonial Kenya” Africa Today 53, 2 (2006)

with Katherine Luongo, “Navigating the Kenya National Archives:
Research and its Role in Kenyan Society” History in Africa 32, (2005)

with Nate Plageman, African History from Colonial Times to Present.
(Bloomington, IN: Indiana University School of Continuing Studies, 2005).

Selected Presentations:

“Because our children do not speak Luganda: Vernacular education, historiography and identity in the Luo Diaspora.” African Studies Association annual meeting. San Francisco, CA – November 16-19, 2006

“Colonial Negotiations: Social Welfare and Identity in British East Africa.” The Midwest Conference on British Studies, October 27-29, 2006.

“Shaping Identity in Independent Kenya: The Official Demise and Rebirth of the
Luo Union (East Africa)”, African Studies Association annual meeting. Washington, D.C. November 17-20, 2005. 

“Riwruok e Teko: Cultivating Luo Identity in 20th century Kenya”, Creating the Kenya Postcolony conference at  Oxford University, U.K. April 18-19th, 2005.

Fellowships and Awards:  

Faculty Development Grant (Albion College) 2007.

Hill Fellowship (Indiana University) 2005.

Lillie E. Fosbrink Award (Indiana University) 2005.

Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship (Kenya, Uganda and the U.K.) 2003-2004.

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships for Kiswahili and Dholuo (2000-2002)

Service and Community Activities: When not in the classroom or doing research I enjoy working with students on a variety of projects. Study abroad was formative in my own career as an undergrad so I am an active supporter of international education and experiences. My wife and I also love the outdoors, and been known to cook African food for students on select occasions. After many years of competing I have also been involved as a volunteer wrestling coach for a number of high-school, college and community programs.  

Sources for news and other African related content: If you are interested in learning more about the African continent and opportunities to study abroad please follow the below links to some great resources available online. 

www.allafrica.com  This is a great news source that collects articles about Africa from dozens of African news sources. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/  the British broadcasting corporation news site offers fairly good insight as well as a special page devoted to African issues

http://www.h-net.org/~africa/ - h-net is an international list-server for academics and professionals interested in African issues.

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/AS.html  UPenn's African studies program offers a lot of teaching materials and links to sources of African related materials

http://africa.msu.edu/ - Michigan State Universities African Studies program also offers some good resources for African issues and is of special interest to future elementary or high school teachers

www.eastandard.net  a link to one of the national newspapers of my second home—Kenya

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa.html  a great map site for the African continent

Study Abroad in Africa

http://www.albion.edu/intledu/africa.asp  Study abroad in Africa through Albion college with Programs to Senegal, Kenya and South Africa available.

http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/index.html Check out the renowned programs available at the School for International Training (SIT). Over 20 programs available, anywhere from a summer to a full year. 

http://www.stlawu.edu/ciis/html/off_campus/kenya/  One of the oldest US study abroad programs to Kenya. An excellent program, and they accept students from outside universities. Of course I admit that I am a biased alumni.