Alison Okuda, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
Dr. Okuda is a social and cultural historian specializing in African and African Diaspora History.
Her first book, Pan-African Resonance: Music, Migration, and Everyday Practice in London and Accra, is published by Ohio University Press in their New African Histories series. It will be available in August 2026.
Dr. Okuda’s research on 20th century Ghanaian and African diasporic history, politics, and popular music has been published in African Studies Review, Ghana Studies, & African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal. Dr. Okuda’s 2023 article, “Black Power, Race, and Raw Soul” won the Outstanding Article Award from the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora.
Her research on popular culture and Ghanaian migration has led to a new project on Ghanaian foodways, entrepreneurship, and belonging in Worcester, MA. Dr. Okuda is currently researching a new book project on African-Asian-Caribbean networks of resistance to nuclear weapons.
Since joining Worcester State University in 2017, she has directed the Human Rights Center, served on the University Curriculum Committee, helped revise the History Major to reflect geographic diversity and experiential learning, created 3 new interdisciplinary minors, and brought numerous scholars and experts to campus. Dr. Okuda regularly teaches African, African diaspora, and world history. She enjoys gardening, traveling, writing, and eating.
Alison Okuda, Ph.D. 