Dr. Caitlin Barker

Caitlin Barker is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the History Department at Boston College. She is trained in modern African and Chinese history, and her current book project is a diplomatic history from below of Cameroon’s relationship with China and Taiwan during the Cold War. The manuscript draws on oral history and archival research in Cameroon, China, Taiwan, France, and the UK, to challenge conventional understandings of African international relations as perpetually dominated by foreign powers and their rivalries. Caitlin has held research fellowships from the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, Fulbright-Hays, and the Social Science Research Council. She currently serves as a book review editor for H-Africa. Her writing has appeared in The Journal of African History, Cold War History, The Journal of West African History, Connections: A Journal for Historians and Area Specialists, and H-Net Reviews. Caitlin received her PhD in History from Michigan State University.