William Blakemore Lyon: Postdoc

My background is in African and Global Labor History with a focus on Southern and West Africa. My doctoral thesis (2022) at Humboldt University of Berlin (HU) examined migrant labor from Southern and Western Africa in colonial Namibia from the early 1890s until the mid-1920s. I am currently in the process of turning my doctoral thesis into a book with the publishing house De Gruyter.

My new project as a Postdoc at the University of Zurich focuses on the Pan-African origins and spread of Jollof Rice in the 20th century. In addition to my regional African focus, I have an MPhil in Modern European History from the University of Cambridge (2015). I have experience publishing and editing in peer reviewed journals including in the Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS). Furthermore, I have experience in teaching both at HU and the University of Freiburg. My teaching includes course development from the ground up in both African and Global History, as well as training in, and implementing inquiry-based learning ('forschendes Lernen') techniques.

For more on my background, publications and work click here.

Contact:

william.lyon@hist.uzh.ch