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Sonia WindGraduate Student

I am a third-year student in African History. I was born and raised in France where I spent most of my life. I am a French woman of African descent (Mali). I earned my BA and MA at La Sorbonne University (Paris). Then, I studied at the INALCO in Paris, where I attended Yoruba language and African studies courses. My research engages the Afro-Brazilian diaspora in West Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

After focusing on the African Muslims enslaved in Brazil in the nineteenth century for my master’s thesis, I am currently interested in those who went back to West Africa after being freed. Their arrival in this area coincided with the beginning of British and French colonization.

In my work, I look at how the two European powers tried to control and incorporate Afro-Brazilian Muslims into their project. On the other hand, I also examine how this process impacted Afro-Brazilian Muslims' relationships with the indigenous African populations.

Education

O.B. La Sorbonne
C.R.U. INALCO
O.M. La Sorbonne

Research Interests

Afro-Brazilian diaspora
Islam
Black Atlantic
Colonization

Dissertation

TBD

Faculty Advisor

Walter C. Rucker