Ohio University Research in International Studies
This series of publications on Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Global and Comparative Studies is designed to present significant research, translation, and opinion to area specialists and to a wide community of persons interested in world affairs. The series is distributed worldwide. For more information, consult the Ohio University Press website, ohioswallow.com.
Books in the Ohio University Research in International Studies series are published by Ohio University Press in association with the Center for International Studies. The views expressed in individual volumes are those of the authors and should not be considered to represent the policies or beliefs of the Center for International Studies, Ohio University Press, or Ohio University.
Executive Editor: Gillian Berchowitz
2016 by the Center for International Studies
Ohio University
All rights reserved
To obtain permission to quote, reprint, or otherwise reproduce or distribute material from Ohio University Press publications, please contact our rights and permissions department at (740) 593-1154 or (740) 593-4536 (fax).
www.ohioswallow.com
Printed in the United States of America
The books in the Ohio University Research in International Studies Series are printed on acid-free paper.
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Carotenuto, Matthew, author. | Luongo, Katherine, 1975 author.
Title: Obama and Kenya : contested histories and the politics of belonging / Matthew Carotenuto and Katherine Luongo.
Description: Athens : Ohio University Press, 2016. | Series: Ohio University research in international studies, global and comparative studies series ; no. 15 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016006262| ISBN 9780896802995 (hc : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780896803008 (pb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780896804920 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: United StatesRelationsKenya. | KenyaRelationsUnited States. | Obama, BarackFamily. | United StatesPolitics and government2009 | KenyaPolitics and government2002 | Group identityKenya.
Classification: LCC E183.8.K4 C37 2016 | DDC 327.7306762dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016006262
Acknowledgments
Scholarship is often a solitary, even lonely, endeavor, but in writing this book we are fortunate to have been inspired by our shared passions for Kenya and its history and to benefit from each others approaches to and support in writing and editing.
Kate extends her heartfelt thanks to Matt for his unstinting enthusiasm for and faith in this project. One could not hope for a better collaborator and friend. Matt shares Kates thoughts and knows that without her shared critique and insight, this book would not have been possible.
While only two names appear on the cover of this book, many colleagues and friends deserve special thanks for their long-term support for an idea born out of casual conversations more than a decade ago.
Our former PhD advisers, John Hanson and David William Cohen, deserve special thanks for their thoughtful critiques and continued professional and personal support long after graduation. The foundational scholarship on Luo history and identity produced by E. S. Atieno Odhiambo and David William Cohen was never far from our minds when writing this book. Their many years of collaboration and friendship serve as a model and inspiration for us. Matt would also like to thank his longtime mentor and friend Don Wright. With origins in his lowly undergraduate years, Dons encouragement and model he set as a teacher and scholar continues to drive Matts work today.
During our initial dissertation fieldwork year together, Dan Branch, Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch, and Gez McCann provided great breaks from the archives and a collaborative scholarly community. Their own excellent work informs this book in many ways.
A number of scholars and colleagues from around the world read drafts and provided important critiques along the way. Derek Peterson, David William Cohen, and Frederick Cooper all provided important insights on Kenya and all things colonial as well as judicious advice and warm encouragement as this book took shape. Bruce Berman enthusiastically supported our vision at a key moment. Brett Shadle, Paul Ocobock, Julie MacArthur, Nate Plageman, Liz McMahon, Hannington Ochwada, Jim Brennan, Caterina Pizzagoni, and many others helped flesh out ideas and shape this book through lively discussions and with their own scholarship and supportive friendship. Many thanks go to Gillian Berchowitz, who supported our project from its inception, and to Ohio University Press. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewer whose careful, astute critiques and imaginative suggestions helped us to refine the project even further.
In Kenya, the staff at the Kenya National Archives (KNA) have been incredibly accommodating and resourceful over the years. Richard Ambani, Peterson Kithuka, and Evanson Kiiru always make the KNA search room a welcoming space and lend their expertise and passion for research to scholars from around the world. In Western Kenya, Martin Adero Metho and Amos Odhiambo helped with early interviews. Atieno Adala was Matts first Dholuo teacher and welcomed us into both her family home and her family history. Henry Adera deserves special mention for his long-term dedication to this project. From archival research to oral interviews, Henry is a formidable researcher himself and provided key advice and support with translation and analysis while bouncing around Nyanza in our little Maruti.
Our students and colleagues at St. Lawrence and Northeastern provided important support in the halls and classrooms. Ryan Deuel and Bill Johnson helped us flesh out some important ideas in concise and accessible ways. The staff at the St. Lawrence Kenya Semester program made Nairobi a home-away-from-home and continues to produce some of our greatest student critics. St. Lawrence GIS staff Carol Cady and Dakota Casserly produced the maps for this book, and St. Lawrence student, now alumna, Emma Burr created key images.
We are grateful to the several institutions that have directly supported our research. Our dissertation research was funded by Fulbright-Hays fellowships. We have also been supported by our home departments and institutions. Fellowships at the Cambridge University Centre for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, the Princeton University Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies, and the Library of Congress John W. Kluge Center provided time away from teaching and collegial venues in which to write. Special thanks go to Professor Philip Nord at the Davis Center and Mary Lou Reker at the Kluge. We are also grateful to the audiences at the Harvard University Weatherhead African Studies Seminar and to the Boston University African Studies seminar for their feedback on early iterations of this project.
Finally, without our families none of this would have been possible. Our parents have always been supportive of our work, no matter how far it took us from home. Without their dedication to us to follow our passions in life, Kenya would have remained merely an idea in our minds. Jolene (Mama Ethan), believed in this project from the beginning, allowed us the space to conduct research, and shared many of our experiences at home and abroad. Without her support Matt would never have been able to keep up, and he attributes his continued professional and personal growth to her support and dedication to their family. And a special thanks to Ethan, whose birth and early years grounded our scholarly focus. He always welcomed Daddy home with a hug and games after long hours of research and writing, putting what is most important in life into perspective.
