In collaboration with Cal Performances and the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, this lecture, presented by Ahmad Sikainga, will discuss the African Diaspora in relation to the performance The Routes of Slavery (1444–1888). Currently at the Department of History at the Ohio State University, Sikainga’s academic interests embrace the study of Africa, the African Diaspora, and the Middle East with a focus on slavery, labor, urban history, and popular culture. The geographical focus of his research is the Sudan, the Nile Valley, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf. Sikainga’s research was supported by fellowships and grants from such institutions as the National Endowment for the Humanities, Andrew Mellon Fellowship at Harvard University, the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Philosophical Society, and the Social Science Research Council, just to name a few. Sikainga is currently working on two research projects. The first deals with slavery and wage labor in the Persian Gulf, with a focus on Qatar. The second examines the role the slavery and ethnicity in the development of popular culture in contemporary Sudan. Prior to joining OSU, Sikainga held teaching positions at the City University of New York, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, and Qatar University.