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Who is Mahmood Mamdani and what are his main academic positions?
Executive Summary
Mahmood Mamdani is a distinguished scholar of African history, politics, and colonialism who currently holds the Herbert Lehman Professorship of Government at Columbia University and appointments in related departments such as anthropology and political science [1] [2] [3]. His career spans faculty roles across East and Southern Africa — notably the University of Dar-es‑Salaam, Makerere University (where he directed the Makerere Institute of Social Research), and the University of Cape Town — and leadership of major scholarly bodies including the Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) [4] [5] [6]. Mamdani is also a prolific author of influential books such as Neither Settler Nor Native, When Victims Become Killers, and Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, and has been widely recognized as a leading public intellectual [4] [7] [1].
1. Why his Columbia title matters and how sources state it
Columbia University listings consistently identify Mamdani as the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, a title that anchors his current academic standing and public profile [1] [3]. University department pages and profiles appended to his Columbia roles further record cross-appointments in political science and anthropology, situating him at the intersection of disciplinary work on governance, identity, and historical processes; these listings appear in sources dated across 2023–2025, reinforcing continuity in his Columbia affiliation [2] [8]. The repeated citation of the Lehman professorship in institutional materials and academic commentary signals that this is his primary contemporary academic position, not a transient visiting post, and helps explain his ongoing influence on debates about colonial legacies, citizenship, and political violence [3] [1].
2. The African trajectory that shaped his scholarship
Mamdani’s formative academic appointments across East Africa constitute the backbone of his scholarly authority: he taught at the University of Dar‑es‑Salaam in the 1970s, led research and teaching at Makerere University in Uganda through the 1980s and early 1990s — including a directorship at the Makerere Institute of Social Research — and later held a faculty post at the University of Cape Town in the late 1990s [6] [4]. These positions are consistently referenced in profiles spanning from 1998 through 2025 and are linked directly to his empirical focus on colonial governance, ethnic politics, and post-colonial state formation. The African institutional record explains his methodological emphasis on comparative field research and the institutional reproduction of political identities across multiple national contexts [7] [9].
3. Leadership roles and public intellectual recognition
Beyond university chairs, Mamdani’s leadership of transnational scholarly organizations is a recurring claim: he served as President of CODESRIA from 1998 to 2002, a role that amplified his influence across African social science networks [4] [6]. Profiles and commentaries also emphasize his status as a public intellectual, noting listings among top global thinkers and intellectuals — recognitions that appear in sources dated 2008 and reiterated in later profiles and news coverage through 2025 [7] [1]. These honors reflect both the reach of his scholarly work — books addressing genocide, settler-colonialism, and the politics of Muslim identity — and the controversies some of those public stances have provoked in media and policy debates [5] [7].
4. What his major writings reveal about his academic focus
Mamdani’s major books — including Good Muslim, Bad Muslim; When Victims Become Killers; and Neither Settler Nor Native — are routinely cited in profiles as central to his intellectual contribution, linking detailed empirical case studies to broader theoretical claims about colonial rule, violence, and identity formation [4] [7]. Institutional biographies and departmental descriptions frame these works as foundational to contemporary debates in African studies, comparative politics, and anthropology, which explains his multi-departmental appointments and invitations to public forums. The bibliographic emphasis across sources from 2022 through 2025 underscores that his research agenda has remained consistent: interrogating how colonial legacies structure post-colonial governance and conflict [1] [8].
5. Divergent emphases in profiles and why they matter
Sources converge on Mamdani’s Columbia chair and African appointments, but they diverge in emphasis: some profiles foreground his public controversies and critiques of Western foreign policy and Zionism, which feature in journalistic accounts and popular profiles [5], while university pages focus on institutional titles, courses, and academic distinctions such as fellowships and honorary degrees [3] [6]. These different emphases reflect distinct agendas: media pieces highlight public debate and critique, potentially signaling controversy and public engagement, whereas academic pages present career credentials and scholarly output intended for institutional validation. Together, these complementary portrayals give a fuller picture of Mamdani as both an established academic and a contentious public intellectual [5] [3].