Nice to meet you. I'm Jodie Marshall.

​

I am a cultural historian studying East Africa and its links elsewhere in the Indian Ocean and the world. 

​

My interest in the region began through work on Kenya and the British Empire at University of Vermont. I am now a Doctoral Candidate at Michigan State University, where these interests have developed through the program's excellent African History resources and my work with the Migration With(out) Borders conference.

 

My current research is on the history of migration between Zanzibar and Oman. My focus in this project is on the ways that family forms the basis for various transnational movements and connections ​between these two sites. 

​

What did it mean to be a transnational family?

 

Separation from one's loved ones? An expansion of economic options? A more international point of view? Access to foods and materials from abroad? Increased financial burden? 

​

My research seeks to understand how the answer to this question has changed for transnational families living between Zanzibar and Oman over the course of the twentieth century.

Where am I now?

Throughout 2017 and 2018 I will be in Oman, Zanzibar, and the UK, where I am working on dissertation research. 

​

​

I am grateful for fellowships from Fulbright Hays DDRA and Fulbright IIE for supporting this research. 

PhD Candidate, ABD

Michigan State University