Luigi Muci is a PhD student in the Department of African Cultural Studies. He is interested in the evolution of Krio theatre in Sierra Leone and the socio-political ramifications of literary and cultural expressions in the postcolonial context. His research more broadly explores questions of postcolonial national identity and the role of cultural production in both shaping and challenging linear notions of the ‘nation’ across a range of African contexts. He has previously published in the International Journal of African Historical Studies and the Journal of African Cultural Studies. His most recent article ‘From Dakar to Pyongyang: Imagining Pan-Africanism and the Global South through Sierra Leone’s National Dance Troupe (1966-1988)’ analyzes the role of Sierra Leone’s national dance company in shaping cultural identity during the decades following independence.
He holds a BA in History from University College London with a year abroad at UC Berkeley and an MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford. Following his MSc he worked for a couple of years in Burundi and Uganda in educational research roles within the Italian civic and social service department before joining UW-Madison. He is originally from Italy and mostly grew up in Sierra Leone.