John Hanson
- Associate Professor, Department of History
- Editor, History in Africa
Education
- Ph.D. at Michigan State University, 1989
Contact Information
|
| Ballantine Hall, Rm. 731 |
| (812) 855-5212 |
Background
My research explores the religious imagination and social initiatives of Muslims in western Africa. My current projects focus on the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, a trans-national Islamic movement that gained a significant following in twentieth century Ghana; previously I analyzed Muslim Sufi movements in nineteenth century Senegal and Mali. I also reflect on historical methods and am co-editor of History in Africa: A Journal of Method. My teaching concerns the full range of transformations associated with Africa during the last six hundred years. I also am interested in Middle Eastern history and hold an adjunct appointment in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.
Selected Awards
- John W. Ryan Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Studies, IU, 2011
- Fellow, National Humanities Center, 2009-10
- Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad fellowship, 2005
- Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, 2004
- Trustee's Teaching Award, IU, 2001
Research Interests
- Africa
- Religion
- Intellectual and cultural
Courses Recently Taught
- African Civilizations; and African History I: Ancient Empires and City-States
- History of Christianity in Africa; and History of Islam in Africa
- History of Western Africa
- Graduate colloquiums and seminars on African religious identities; memory and literacy: colonial encounters
Publication Highlights
Books/CD-ROMS
Friday Prayers at Wa (CD-ROM unit), in Patrick McNaughton, John Hanson, dele jegede, Ruth Stone, and N. Brian Winchester, Five Windows Into Africa (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000).
Migration, Jihad and Muslim Authority in West Africa; the Futanke Colonies in Karta
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996).
After the Jihad: The Reign of Ahmad al-Kabir in the Western Sudan, an anthology of Arabic documents, edited, translated into English and annotated by John Hanson and David Robinson (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1991).
Articles
'Sub-Saharan Africa after World War One,' in Francis Robinson, ed., New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume Five, Islam in the Age of Western Domination (Michael Cook, series ed.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
'Modernity, religion and development in Ghana: the example of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,' Ghana Studies, Volume 12/13 (2009/10), 55-75
'Jihad and the Ahmadiyya Muslim community: non-violent efforts to promote Islam in the contemporary world,' Nova Religio, Volume 14 (2007), 77-93
'Islam, migration and the political economy of meaning: fergo Nioro from the Senegal River valley, 1862-1890,” Journal of African History, Volume 35, no. 1 (1994), 37-60.
