My new book is the first of its kind, retelling the stories of Congolese Tutsi soldiers. These stories come from across the African Great Lakes region and the diaspora. I show how genocide can become the primary story we tell about ourselves, thus shaping who we are. I propose an alternative to the perpetrator-victim binary common in genocide studies. The book represents years of interdisciplinary fieldwork and creates a deeper understanding of the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo.
It is published by Michigan University Press's Ethnic Conflict: Studies in Nationality, Race, and Culture series, and is available in various formats.
Read more about the book here.
“By delving into the Banyamulenge’s experiences The Banyamulenge Soldier convincingly unveils the complexities of the concept of genocide, the multidirectional violence it entails and the importance of considering the subjective experiences and interaction with violence and atrocities, going beyond conventional victim-perpetrator paradigms.”
Flavia Gasbarri, King’s College London
I am interdisciplinary scholar with a historical and political focus. My specializations are in Africa, peacebuilding, and genocide. I am currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Binghamton University's Political Science department and the Human Rights Institute. I previoulsy held posts with Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention and Clark University's Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies as the Charles E. Scheidt Visiting Professor of Genocide Studies and Prevention. I am also a Harry Frank Guggenheim Dsitinguished Scholar.
I am a research associate with Education for Global Peace, collaborating on various research projects.
This site covers these areas of expertise and experience, including academic publications and research, as well as a few years of posts from my blog.
My latest publications include:
Co-edited special issue of the Journal of Genocide Research, "Navigating Post-Genocide Social Relations: Memory, Power and Legacy in Rwanda," with Dr. Nicole Fox. This features two other co-authored pieces: my collaboration with Dr. Claudine Kuradusenge-McLeod, "Erasing Refugees: Displaced Memories of Camps as Killing Fields in the First Congo War," and with various colleagues, "Lessons from the Field: Experts Weigh in on years of Conducting Fieldwork in Post-Atorcity Zones."
Postgenocide and decolonizing approaches to peaceeducation in the Anthropocene, published in the Journal of Peace Education addresses global level tools for teaching the complexities of climate change and mass atroicty.
Investigating Multidirectional Violence in Eastern Congo: Owning 'Genocide' and Pre-Judicial Atrocity, is an article in the Journal of Perpetrator Studies special issue Researching Perpetrators, Revisited. I examine the innovation and limitations of seeing subjectivity in Congo-based genocide research, while considering the highly fraught nature of this term and its uses.
Listen to my interviews with new authors at the New Books Network. Read here about my current research funded by the Harry Frank Guggneheim Distinguished Scholar award. Learn more about the Gatumba Survivors Project here and our ongoing research. Read more about the Erasing Refugees Project here.
Please get in touch via the contact page if you have any questions or are interested in collaborating with me.
(All photos are my own shots [excluding the right profile shot by Kimberly A. Spaulding/Binghamton University, State University of New York]; above photo credit: ISP Bukavu, DRC 2018.)