Akwasi Bretuo Assensoh is a Ghanaian academic and journalist. He is an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of African American and African Diaspora Studies at

Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest campu ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Early life and education

Assensoh was born on 1 April 1946 at

Dunkwa-On-Offin Dunkwa-On-Offin or simply Dunkwa, is a town and the capital of the Upper Denkyira East Municipal District, a district in the Central Region of south Ghana. Dunkwa-On-Offin has a 2013 settlement population of 33,379 people. Geography Topography ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

to Opanin Kwabena and Abena Amoateng. He moved to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in 1978. He obtained his bachelor's degree in History and Politics from

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

in 1981. In 1982, he was awarded his master's degree by the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and his doctorate degree in 1984 by the same university.

Career

Assensoh begun as an assistant editor for the ''Daily Listener'', ''Chronicle'', and ''Digest'' in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. In 1968, he was promoted to editor, and a year later he was made sub editor of ''The Pioneer'', a newspaper in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. From 1970 to 1972, Assensoh worked as a syndicated columnist for ''Compass News Features'' in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. After his completing his doctoral research in 1984, Assensoh was appointed associate professor of History at

. He worked in this capacity from 1984 to 1988, and in 1986, he doubled as Director of honors programs. He became the assistant editor of King Papers Project and a visiting assistant professor of History at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1988.

Personal life

Assensoh married Irenita Benbow on 19 March 1981. Together, they have two children. He later married Dr. Yvette Alex-Assensoh and together, they have two sons.

Works

* ''Kwame Nkrumah: Six Years in Exile, 1966-72'", (1978)'' * ''Black Woman: An African Story'' (novel), (1980) * ''Woman : An African Story'' (novel), (1980) * ''Campus Life'' (three - act play), (1981) * ''Africa in Retrospect'', (1985) * ''Martin Luther King, Jr. and America's Quest for Racial Integration'', (1987) * ''Kwame Nkrumah of Africa: His Formative Years and the Beginning of His Political Career, 1935-1948'', (1989) * ''African Political Leadership: Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah, and Julius K. Nyerere'', (1998) * ''African Military History and Politics: Coups and Ideological Incursions, 1900-Present'', (2002) * ''Malcolm X: A Biography'', (2013) * ''Malcolm X and Africa'', (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assensoh, Akwasi Bretuo Dillard University alumni Ghanaian academics Ghanaian journalists Living people 1946 births Dillard University faculty

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Works

See also

References