Dr. Emmanuel Akyeampong

Biography

Professor Emmanuel K. Akyeampong is the Oppenheimer Faculty Director at the Harvard University Center for African Studies and holds the Ellen Gurney Professorship in History, alongside a professorship in African and African American Studies. He received his Ph.D. in African History from the University of Virginia in 1993 and has a master's degree from Wake Forest University, focused on English labor history. His undergraduate study in History and Religions was completed at the University of Ghana at Legon in 1984. Professor Akyeampong's notable publications include 'Themes in West Africa's History' (2005), 'Independent Africa: A Generation of Nation Builders' (2023), and 'Sea Lagoon: An Eco-Social History of Anlo Southeastern Ghana, 1850 to Recent' (2001). He has served as co-chief editor for 'Dictionary of African Biography' alongside Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and has received research fellowships, including the Zora Neale Hurston Fellowship. He was named a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2002 and has been honored with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Ghana in 2018. At Harvard, he is a faculty associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and serves on the executive committee of the Hutchins Center, contributing significantly to the creation of the Department of African and African American Studies.

Research Interests