He received his PhD in history from Yale University in 2005. He has written a book on processes of Islamization in southern Mali under French colonial rule, «Islamization from Below: The Making of Muslim Communities in Rural French Sudan, 1880-1960» (Yale University Press, 2011). He has also written articles on the colonial history of southern Mali for Journal of African History, and numerous news analyses on politics in Mali and Burkina Faso for African Arguments and Think Africa Press. Currently, he is completing a book on Thomas Sankara and the revolution in Burkina Faso, entitled «Sankara: A Revolutionary Life and Legacy in West Africa» (forthcoming with Indiana University Press). <media1373|insert|center>